


History Repeats Itself

by AudreyJay (audreyjayyyy)



Category: Assassination Classroom
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Child Abuse, F/F, F/M, Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Past Abuse, Past Child Abuse, Physical Abuse, Sexual Abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:55:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 22,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26997067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/audreyjayyyy/pseuds/AudreyJay
Summary: Some of Class 3-E’s next generation meet in the famed Kunugigaoka high school, including Asano’s daughter. They soon make friends, and become close. How will the kids react when they find out about their parents’ pasts?(It’s so bad at the beginning but keep reading, I promise it gets better by ch 7!)
Relationships: Akabane Karma/Asano Gakushuu, Akabane Karma/Shiota Nagisa, Chiba Ryuunosuke/Hayami Rinka, Hazama Kirara/Terasaka Ryouma, Hiroto Maehara/Hinano Kurahashi, Irina Jelavić/Karasuma Tadaomi, Isogai Yuuma/Maehara Hiroto, Kanzaki Yukiko/Sugino Tomohito, Muramatsu Takuya/Yoshida Taisei, Nakamura Rio/Sugaya Sousuke, Okuda Manami/Takebayashi Koutarou, Shiota Nagisa/Yukimura Akari
Comments: 9
Kudos: 42





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> * words within double slashes—-aka this: //...//—-means that the character is speaking in English
> 
> *this fanfic discusses topics such as r*pe, abuse, and suicide (not until ch 7 tho)! Read at your own discretion!!

Nagisa thought to himself about all the wonderful things about being a teacher. He guessed his class was better because it was like Korosensei’s; the students tried to hurt/kill him using whatever tactics handy. He did set the challenge himself, after all.  
One of the students, a burly fifteen year old at that, tried to whack Nagisa with a ruler. The teacher got out of his chair and rotated it, then blocked the attack in the matter of two seconds.  
The other students indirectly awed the teacher as they did their work.  
Nagisa took the ruler, “time’s up!” He held it up as everyone set their pencil’s down. “Stop writing, Sero.” he pointed. The student immediately dropped his pencil. “Alright, turn those in and you’re dismissed.”  
The students scribbled their names down aside from a few who remembered to write the essential two words, and turned them in. Nagisa smiled as his students all scrambled out. He then saluted to where the moon supposedly was and walked out himself. He didn’t even consider taking the papers.  
“It’s Friday. They’ll be okay over the weekend.” The teacher told himself.  
“Leaving so soon?” A tall man with blonde hair stepped out of his office.  
“Yes, principal Hekako,” Nagisa nodded. He then continued walking as the principal didn’t stop him.  
The blue haired man walked down the street. He came upon a building and went in, walking into it’s elevator and pressing the level six. He walked to his apartment and opened it.  
Nagisa sighed. “Geez, that principal really does want me to stay.” He put a hand on his head and shook it a bit, then sat on his couch. A little something caught his eye, though. A yellow book sat on his half-empty bookshelf, next to another one.  
It was tempting. Nagisa walked over to the bookshelf, took the books, and sat back down.  
“Korosensei, huh?” he smiled, replaying all the memories of the times. “Maybe I should check on some of them.” He remembered everyone, but one prominent memory played in his head. “Red versus Blue, that was fun,” he chuckled, “wonder where you can learn an axe kick like that.” He trailed off and paused. “I know you wanna meet up.” A lust filled his voice as he eyed a certain redhead. 

Karma seemed to be okay. He was still all snark and confidence, but the industry and economy had sharpened his senses.  
All this hard work better be worth it. He told himself. I would’ve worked my *ss off for nothing.  
The man suddenly got a text. He made sure no one was walking by his corner, and smiled when he saw who it was from.  
“Later,” Karma mumbled.  
The weekend seemed to be his only free time now, and even then he still had work that he needed to bring home. The political industry was a hard place, that was for sure, especially when it involved the economy. But he’d get through this, it was all a matter of not cracking under the pressure. 

Work was finally over for Karma as the time neared closer to 7:00pm. He got up and stared at the phone in his hands.  
“Now it’s later.” he smirked, then grabbed his briefcase and walked home. When he was finally there, he sat and texted back. Of course. I just wanna see what we can do with the time we have.  
Nagisa received the message and blushed profusely. He texted back. What do you plan on?  
Oh, don’t worry. I have something special in mind.  
The lust and seduction could be felt, even on the other side of the phone.  
I’m hard cuz of you. Nagisa complained.  
Would you like me to help you with that? I can head over right now. Karma licked his lips.  
Nagisa blushed even more, his whole face turning red. Let’s wait till tomorrow. I want to see that surprise. Even then, his mind didn’t go in the gutter. When Karma had a surprise, that meant something big. It wasn’t just flowers or chocolate, he’d have something planned. It could’ve been...it, but it could’ve been something even better.  
As you wish. He sent.  
Karma set his phone down, sighing and leaning back in accomplishment on his couch. 

“//Rio Nakamura, divorcée of André Desprez, has agreed. The child is in custody of the mother—dismissed.//“ The judge slammed the mallet down. They walked out.  
Rio bit her lip.  
“//I told you. You should’ve never become a diplomat.//” André said.  
She couldn’t hold it in anymore. “//If I hadn’t become a diplomat, we wouldn’t have been married and our kid wouldn’t be here!//” she strained a shout.  
“//Exactly,//” was all he replied with. Rio teared up, but wiped them away and went home to her child.  
“Mom, how far do we have to move?” she asked. The child looked almost exactly like her mom, aside from her slightly darker hair.  
“I’m not sure.” Nakamura did her best to smile.  
“Aw, it’s okay to cry.” Her child hugged her. “I’m old enough to know.” The mom just smiled, teared up again, then did her best not to sob. “I just have one request. For junior high, can I go to the one you went to?”  
It caught Rio by surprise. “I...I don’t see why not.”  
“Yay, thanks mom!” Her child hugged her.  
“Of course, Rina. But, you’re only ten. You still have two years till you have to worry about that stuff.” She stroked her daughter’s hair. Rio’s tears dried as Rina let go. “Well, guess we have to move to Japan.”  
Both became ecstatic, but the mother held her excitement as the child immediately started packing. She then started, too. 

Terasaka ran after the man.  
“Tired yet?” The politician asked as they arrived at the hotel.  
All Terasaka could do was pant. His hair had been dyed back to it’s original color as it was ‘too unprofessional’.  
The ‘old fart’ looked back and sighed, “alright, alright. There’s a library around the block. Study all you can on the proper etiquette of Japan.” He scoffed.  
The assistant nodded and dropped the bags. Once he turned his back though, he rolled his eyes. “Ugh, what does that old fart expect from me?” He arrived at the library. “Hey, isn’t this the one Kirara works at?”  
Terasaka strolled inside and looked around. Sure enough, he spotted a familiar, prettier-than-expected face in an aisle. He walked up to her.  
“You wouldn’t happen to know where the Japanese section is.” He spoke in a quiet voice.  
Without looking up, the woman answered, “down there, to the right.”  
The man grumbled, “Kirara, it’s me, Terasaka.”  
“What?” she whispered sharply. Finally, she looked up, then scrunched her nose. “Fine, tell me something only you would know about me.”  
“You were in the E class with us. We had to assassinate our stupid teacher, Korosensei.” he answered. “You were the queen of all things dark and scary. Right, Art of Darkness?”  
Kirara narrowed her eyes, “fair enough. I’m assuming you dyed your hair back.”  
It took him a moment, but he got it. “What do you say we hang out?” Terasaka used his ‘flirting skills’.  
“Whatever,” she shrugged, “not like I’m busy. I’m free tomorrow between 3:00-6:00.”  
“Alright, how ‘bout we swing by the art museum around 3:30? We might see some of Sugaya’s stuff there.”  
Both looked at each other for a moment.  
Then, Kirara nodded. “Text me.”  
Terasaka seemed overjoyed and pumped his arm, remembering he was in a library. He then actually went to study the Japanese etiquette, knowing his boss would be pissed if he didn’t. 

Karasuma finally came home from the day’s work. He sat on the couch, eyebrows furrowed, and sighed.  
“Finally,” Irina smiled. “How many papers did you read today?”  
The man looked at her, and gave her a small smile. “Twenty-four, and they were all about the next mission you’re being sent on.”  
The woman put her hand on her heart and acted, “oh, but I’m so scared, Mr. Karasuma. What if I’m captured by some creepy old man? What will you do then?”  
“I’ll look for you, of course. That is part of my duty; to keep you safe.”  
Irina sat next to him. “Aw, what a man you are.” She purred and slid into his arms.  
Karasuma couldn’t resist her. He ran a hand through her hair. “Of course. I need to keep my wife safe.”  
“You smile so rarely these days. Be a little more happy.” The wife leaned into his arm and put her head on his shoulder. “Where’s Kora? I thought she’d be home by now.”  
“Yukiko’s still at the park with her, along with her own child.” The husband answered. “Aren’t you glad we got her to help us? I miss that class, and the octopus.”  
“We all do.”  
They locked eyes as a moment slipped by. The fireplace crackled as Irina fell into this trance of love.  
“We should pick Kora up. It’s almost nine.” Karasuma mentioned. Irina nodded and both walked to the park.  
They saw the two playing with each other.  
“Yukiko, how are my three beautiful babies?” Irina waved and ran towards them. She ran around the sand so as to not damage her heels. Her child was the exact fifty-fifty mix of her and her husband.  
“You all are having fun.” Karasuma said.  
“Kora and Takoaki love playing with each other.” Yukiko smiled.  
“Is Tomo-kun here, or is he still busy with baseball? It is the season after all.” Irina hugged her child.  
“He’s still off.” The babysitter sighed. “But he’ll be back next week because there’s a home game. After that, he’s done unless they win the playoffs,” she sighed, “which they probably will.” She rubbed her head.  
“Mom, when is dad coming home?” Takoaki asked.  
“I’m hoping it’s soon, hunny. He’s been busy with all his baseball.”  
The child nodded. She and Kora waved and the families parted ways. 

Chiba walked out of the building and back home.  
“Long day?” Rinka asked as he shut the door.  
“Yeah, the company’s not doing so great.”  
She walked up to him and moved his bangs out of the way. “Hey, you’ll work things out. You always do.” The woman comforted him, then wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned into his chest.  
The man stroked her hair, then put his finger under her chin and lifted it up. “Eiji’s home, right?”  
Rinka nodded as she let go. “Of course.” She then called, “Ei-chan~, baba’s home!”  
“Baba!” A child came running in. He basically tackled his dad with a hug. “Can you not be gone for so long?” He complained. He had a darker shade of his mom’s hair, and his dad’s eyes with the same intense but beautiful glare.  
“Maybe, if you ask nicely,” Chiba chuckled.  
The mom scratched the kid’s back. “Alright then, supper’s ready. Change out of your school uniform then come and eat.” He obeyed immediately and ran down the hall to change.  
The husband helped his wife set the table as the child came rushing back in.  
“Ei-chan, could you please help with the silverware?” Rinka asked. She set the last plate on the table.  
Eiji immediately obeyed and set the utensils down almost too quickly. They were neat and nice as he had done it so many times.  
“Nicely done,” Chiba bumped fists with him. The son seemed perfectly satisfied.  
They sat down and ate finally, after folding their hands and bowing their heads simply.  
“Mama,” Eiji ate some of his takoyaki, “baba, can you tell me that story again?”  
“Which one?” Rinka asked.  
“Tell me the one about the yellow creature that taught you in junior high.”  
Both parents looked at each other.  
“Alright,” Chiba answered with a smile. “It all started in Kunugigaoka Junior High.” A chuckle could be heard from the mom. “We were put in E-class.” He told in a dramatic voice.  
Rinka joined in. “We were the lowest of the lows. We either had awful grades, or awful behavior, maybe even both.” She told in a similar dramatic voice.  
“We thought we were done for, but a little surprise waited for us. BOOM, the moon blew up and our new teacher was the one who did it.”  
“We deemed him Korosensei, our invincible teacher. But he taught us well. He brought us out of the dumps, and into the top fifty.”  
“It was almost like a dream come true—“  
“—a miracle.”  
“—a thing that we thought would never happen.”  
“But,” Rinka held up her finger, “he wasn’t just a great teacher. Come the end of March, he would blow up the earth.” Eiji gasped. “So we were put in charge of killing him.”  
“It was a hard and treacherous path. No, it wasn’t easy. We even got a robot girl to help us.”  
“Her name was Ritsu.”  
“Ritsu?” Eiji looked as if he was about to burst. “I’ve heard all about her. You were in class with her?”  
“Mhm,” the parents nodded.  
They continued the dramatic and tragic tale, almost as if it were a song or poem learned from a young age. They wrapped up Ritsu, and moved to Itona and Terasaka, then Karma and Nagisa and Kaede, how they defeated government security, character developments, oh, the birthday, and finally, the death.  
Eiji had tears in his eyes. “The death always gets me.” He wiped them away, though it was still sad. “So, you guys bought that building back, right? Do you know where everyone is now? Have you all met up?” He quieted his voice to a whisper. “Are any of them gay?”  
Chiba chuckled and Rinka started laughing.  
“Yeah, a few of them swung that way.” The mom finished laughing. “I’m kind of glad, though. It was obvious who liked who back in junior high.”  
They kept talking and replaying memories. Some were painful, but the parents embellished the stories for the sake of fun. 

Isogai sat in the semi-abandoned wooden building. He sighed, leaning back in the seat he used to sit in.  
“You doin’ okay?” Maehara asked. He opened the window for some air.  
“I don’t know much anymore. Work’s picked up and the weekend is like to be my only free time.” Isogai replied.  
“Isn’t that a good thing, class-prez?” The orange-haired man tried one of the old teases.  
The former class-prez shook his head. All he did was look at his feet and frown.  
“Dang, what hit you?” Maehara sat on the desk where Isogai was sitting. “I’ve only seen you with that face once. What’s wrong?” He rubbed the other guy’s back.  
“I-...I don’t know much anymore. Life’s been so busy and my younger siblings are in university. But, my younger brother isn’t doing so well.”  
Both stared at each other with the same look.  
“I know what’ll cheer you up.” Hiroto smiled. “Let’s take a walk.”  
Yuma smiled back and got up. They walked outside, watching the stars dance in the sky, even walking as far as the woods. They walked deeper and deeper in, still remembering the place like the backs of their hands. It seemed lonely but, quiet and preserved, almost as if nothing had changed.  
“Hey,” ‘class-prez’ stopped when he saw a green weapon on the ground, “isn’t that one of the anti-Korosensei knives?”  
“That’s kinda weird.” Maehara squatted to look at it better. “Guess this mountain was so big that we couldn’t pick up everything we used.” They both chuckled.  
“Well,” Yuma scooped it up, “might as well have a little fun here. It’s not like we get to be here everyday.”  
The mood picked up and the two ran along the hill, then scaled the cliff and kept running.  
“It’s been way too long.”  
“Yeah.”  
They kept jumping and running. Somehow, the two still had the parkour skills from their school days. They decided to head back once 9:00pm rolled around. 

Manami and Kotaro were part of the science industry, researching and discovering new vaccines and cures a lot. But, in the midst of all their work and dedication, they found time for each other and a child.  
They walked home all the time, holding hands and smiling like there was no tomorrow. Even though they weren’t as obvious in middle school, they were now. Science had somehow brought them closer together.  
They arrived at their place.  
“Dad, mom, you’re home!” The child cried, walking up to them. “How was work? Make any new discoveries?” She had black hair and purple eyes.  
They chuckled.  
“Not yet, Haruka. We’re working on a new one.” Manami smiled. “It’s so close to being good, we just need to run a few tests.”  
Haruka grinned, then nodded. “You better make dinner quick!”  
Manami laughed while Kotaro just smiled.  
“Alright.”  
The girl went off to play as her ka-san cooked dinner.  
“She reminds me of a little you.” Manami said.  
Kotaro nodded. “She does. But she has your spirit.”  
Both parents looked each other in the eyes, just staring for a moment. They laughed it off and continued to prepare dinner.


	2. Yaokata

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **words within double slashes—-aka this: //...//—-means that the character is speaking in English.
> 
> **this fanfic discusses topics such as r*pe, abuse, and suicide (not until ch 7 tho)! Read at your own discretion!!

The girl’s name was Yaokata Asano. Her expression was blank, but her spirit lively. She was talented, but pressured and anxious. She knew the possibilities of things. That fall felt like all her worries combined into one. 

“So, you got one too?” Ren asked. “She’s a lot older than mine, though.” He looked different from his younger self. He had long since cut his side bangs to a shorter length. 

“Yeah,” Gakushu replied. 

“Anyway, how’s it been?” Ren swiped a hand through his hair. 

“I’d rather not talk about it all.” Gakushu eyed his daughter. “She might look like the spitting image of me, but she’s got her mother’s eyes.” 

“Oh yeah...you finally got rid of that b*tch?” 

Silence passed between them. Asano looked into Ren’s eyes with a familiar glare. Ren understood; he had stepped into dangerous territory. 

The cafe was half full, so it wasn’t that noisy—but it was still enough to cover their lack of conversation. At least the kids were outside. Yaokata was basically a glorified babysitter at that point. 

She found herself muttering, “wow, is Ryuka really Ren-sensei’s daughter?” 

Awkwardness had descended between both worlds. Noticing this, Ren took the initiative to stand up. 

“Well, I think it’s time for Ryuka and I to head out.” He smiled. “Let’s do this again sometime. See ya,” he waved before walking out. Gakushu followed behind. 

Yaokata noticed both walking towards her and sighed. Finally, she could go home. But she put on a smile and waved, “Dad.”

“Time to go, Ryuka.” Ren took his daughter by the hand. He waved again, then both left. The child was apparently explaining how fun Yaokata was. 

“Let’s go, Yao,” Gakushu walked off. 

Yaokata nodded, and followed. She opened her mouth, closed it again, then made the decision to speak. “This might be a weird question. But, can I go to the same high school you went to?” 

Her father locked eyes with her. He seemed agitated, and angry, but he didn’t budge. He kept walking. “Okay,” was all Gakushu said. 

His daughter smiled. “//Thank you.//“ she replied in English. 

He smiled. “//Your English is getting better.//” 

Yaokata just nodded. They walked home. 

Three years later... 

Yaokata sighed as she read the paper, “I got in. I really got in.” 

Gakushu smiled, “good job. That’s one of the top schools in the nation. What do you want as a reward?” 

“Nothing, actually,” Yaokata rubbed her neck.  I already got what I wanted—your approval.  She thought. 

Her father nodded. Silence filled her house. Aside from the occasional pop from the stove, it was quiet. 

Yaokata walked to her room. She didn’t know why she felt so happy with just those two words. ‘Good job’ was all he said to her. But she somehow felt so happy. 


	3. April

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First days are weird. Who will Yaokata meet?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *words within double slashes—-aka this: //...//—-means that the character is speaking in English

Class 1-A...the class of all the smarties. All the ones who studied hard, had the natural talent, or even both, got shipped to that class. Asano Yaokata knew all too well the troubles she’d face. All the class A students were expected something at Kunugigaoka, no matter how old you were. 

Students walked in. Asano felt accomplished. She was here, finally, after all three years of middle school. 

“Now go in there and make sure the boys know who you are.” Irina kissed her daughter on the forehead. 

“You be good, now.” Tadaomi smiled. 

“I will.” Kora smiled back, saluted, and walked off. 

Asano agreed—the girl was attractive, and she’d be sure to have a significant other by the end of first term. Both were walking towards the A classroom. 

“Might as well get to know her.” Asano mumbled. She walked up to the brown haired girl. “Hiya, my name’s Asano Yaokata, but you can call me Yao. What’s yours?” 

“Hey, I’m Karasuma Kora. Call me Kora.” Her face was soft and kind. “So, you’re also in A Class?” 

Asano shrugged, “guess so.” 

“Kora,” a girl ran towards them. “Are you in A Class too?” 

Kora nodded. “Yeah, I’m glad we’re in the same class this year.” 

“And who’s this?” The girl looked at Yaokata. 

“I’m Asano Yaokata, but you can call me Yao. What’s your name?” Asano said. 

“I’m Sugino Takoaki.” She smiled, “just call me Aki.” 

“Sugino, like the baseball star?” Yao asked, as if it were a bluff. 

“Yeah, I don’t really like talking about my dad.” Aki rubbed her neck. 

Yao’s head spun upon that remark. 

Noise filled the halls and classroom. The three girls walked in and stood at the entrance. The teacher walked in just behind them. 

“Take your seats. Be careful where you are and who you sit by.” His voice boomed across the classroom. 

Everyone chose their seats carefully. Asano chose one in the second row, to the side, while Aki and Kora chose seats next to each other in the front. It quieted as the teacher stood behind his desk. He slammed his palms on the wood. 

It was quiet enough, you could hear a pin drop. 

“Hello, I am Mr. Takaoka. I will be your home room teacher.” He stared at them crossly. He had black hair, a furrowed brow, and a physique that said ‘I could definitely beat you up.’ But his expression lightened. “Haha, wow, you all actually fell for that.” He chuckled. “Didn’t expect A Class to sway that easily. But, what can I expect from a bunch of first years?” 

“A lot more than you think, sir.” A boy with jet black hair and blue eyes sat in the back. 

“Ah, Akabane Tsuki, was it? Second in the entrance exam, huh?” Mr. Takaoka looked at his attendance book. “Aside from you, I guess Asano Yaokata’s the only one with the brains for A Class. But, I guess we’ll see on finals who’s really the smartest.” 

“Whatever you say, teach.” Akabane’s eyes shifted towards Yao. She locked eyes with him, having been watching him this whole time. 

Yao turned away, back towards the front. 

_ He’s trying to make us rivals.  _ Both thought. 

“Anyway, you all know. You’re A Class. You are the elite, the top class. I expect top performance from everyone in here.” Mr. Takaoka said. “I don’t take anything below an 80 lightly. As long as you score within the top fifty, I’m proud to call you one of my students.” 

“Wait a minute, sir.” A blonde haired, and green eyed girl stood up. “There’s at least thirty to forty of us in here. You’re saying we have to push everyone else off?” 

“Nakamura Rina, is it? Fifth on the entrance exam, but first in English—you’re pretty smart. But I don’t think that accounts for your attitude.” The teacher said. “Sit down, squirt. You’re gonna havta learn that this classroom is teacher speaks, student listens. But...if you wanna know my answer, it’s yes. You already got the guts. How ‘bout you put your money where your mouth is?” 

Nakamura’s teeth gritted, and her eyes narrowed. “Thanks, Mr. Takaoka,” she salted passive aggressively. She slammed back down into her chair. 

Kora bit her lip in an attempt not to burst. Aki rubbed Kora’s shoulder, calming both down. 

“Let’s get started,” the teacher put his attendance book down, “shall we?” 

The periods went by as any other school day. There wasn’t anything special about the first day of junior high, this was no different. 

Between periods, Aki and Kora—Sugino and Karasuma—talked and gossiped with Yao about A Class. Fourth period was a doozy as all of them headed to lunch. 

“Yeah, junior high was kinda boring. High school isn’t really different, I guess.” Kora pursed her lips. 

Aki sighed. “Guess so, and our teacher is really frustrating.” 

“And this is only the first year. What’ll the next two look like?” Yao rested her hands on her neck. “Also, what was with that black haired boy?” 

“Oh, Tsuki? Don’t pay attention to him or his buddy, Maehara Akemi.” Kora salted. “They always cause trouble so don’t get involved with them.” 

“Us four went to the same junior high.” Aki exhaled. “Looks like they followed us here. Slim chance they’d get into A Class, yet here we are.” 

“Slim chance any of us would get into A Class. But, like Mr. Takaoka said, I guess Yao and Tsuki are really the only ones who can really be there.” Kora shrugged. “Anyway, let’s get a table before they’re all taken.” 

All Yao could think was,  _ but now I really wanna be friends with those two.  _ By those two, she meant Tsuki and Akemi—might as well call them Akabane and Maehara. 

The girls came upon the cafeteria. It seemed packed. They had to take whatever seats available, which wasn’t bad considering there was only three of them. 

“Hey, Yao,” Aki scanned the lunchroom, “do you see anything open?” 

“Well, there’s three seats at that one table.” Yao pointed. “But we’d have to sit by Akabane and Maehara, plus that Nakamura or whatever.” 

Kora sighed. “Might as well—we’re just eating lunch. It’s not like we’d have to talk to them.” 

They walked over. 

“Mind if we sit here?” Yao asked with a soft smile. 

“I do mind.” Tsuki responded, leaning back in his chair. 

“Hey, let ‘em sit here.” An unfamiliar boy said. “I’m Terasaka Uta.” He had dark brown hair and eyes. “This one over here is Chiba Eiji.” He motioned to the kid next to him. “Go ahead and sit. Sass-head is just teasing you.” 

Tsuki shot him a look. The girls looked around awkwardly and sat. 

“Woah, woah, we need to know these pretty June bug’s names before they sit down.” Maehara slid over. He was a pretty boy, with ginger hair and light brown eyes, and had a swag no girl except Kora could resist. 

“Akemi,” Kora’s eyes narrowed. 

“Hey, hey, just tryna get to know the new girl.” Akemi gave Yao a coy grin. 

“Asano Yaokata, call me Yao.” she replied, with a smile.  _ What am I supposed to say to that?  _

“Yeah, yeah, the only one with the ‘brains’ for A Class aside from Aka-airhead-bane over here.” Nakamura snarked. “As Mr. Takaoka made clear, I’m Nakamura Rina. Call me whatever, just not something stupid.” 

“Hey, we might as well get to know each other. A Class is gonna be hell if you’re all alone, right?” Tsuki said with a chilled confidence no one could match. 

“Alright,” Aki smiled as if there wasn’t any tension, “I, for one, think that’s a great idea.“ 

“Are you sure, little Aki?” Akemi teased. “You’re not intimidated by Tsuki anymore?”

“I never was.” Aki just kept smiling. Either she was really clueless, or just trying to make the situation work. Kora and Yao guessed the latter. 

“Hey, Chiba,” Tsuki nudged him, “you got a voice?” 

“I do,” Chiba replied, “I just don’t like using it.” His voice was abnormally soft. 

“I think it’s a fine voice.” Aki said. She was probably the most positive one, also the most attractive. 

Rina breathed out a chuckle. “Yeah, yeah, says the girl with the highest voice. Seriously, I think the windows’ll crack.” 

Aki giggled. Kora clenched her fist, but took the comment as a joke since her friend was laughing. 

They ate, having discussed all there really was to discuss. It seemed abnormal that all of them just happened upon each other. 

Lunch ended, so the teens headed back to class. The last two periods weren’t anything special either. After school, the o soji (//cleaning//) came. They cleaned up and went home. 

“I’ve successfully made friends.” Yao mumbled. She started heading home, taking the subway. 

“Yao,” Akemi called, “hey, you take the sub too?” 

“Yeah,” Yao smiled. 

“Gee, that’s thrilling.” Tsuki salted. 

“Hey, Tsuki, I don’t know but...I think I got off on the wrong foot with you and Rina.” Yao rubbed her neck, but kept her smile. “I’m Yao, and I really hope we can be good friends.” She held her hand out. 

Akemi smiled. “Come on, man. You’ll finally get a girl on your side.” 

Tsuki’s eyes scanned Yao skeptically. “What’s in it for me?” 

“Well, you’ll get another friend. And...I’ll help you study.” Yao beamed. It seemed as if she was blushing, but the sun was too bright to tell anything. 

At that point, Akemi was rooting for them and Tsuki’s expression softened. 

“I’m Akabane Tsuki,” he said. “But you already know that.“ 

“Wooh, see how easy that was?” Akemi grinned. “Plus I got another pretty lady on my side.” 

Yao chuckled, “haha, yeah, sure. Don’t expect any perks aside from good grades.” 

They walked onto the same train car, and arrived at the same station...somehow. But Yao took a different bus than the two boys. 

It felt awkward, at least Yao did. Akemi smiled like a little boy while Tsuki acted normal about it. It felt good to actually have made friends on the first day of high school. 

Meanwhile, Kora and Aki headed home on bicycles. They always held conversation no matter how bad the day had been. 

“This is so exciting! We made friends on our first day. Not only that, we made friends with the top of the class.” Aki seemed to bounce out of the seat. “Yao seems to really like us. I’m really excited for this year.” 

“Ugh,” Kora scowled, “yeah, we made friends with some girls. But we’ve also been kinda forced to make friends with Tsuki and Akemi.” 

“Isn’t that great though? Rivals turned best friends is the best relationship.” Aki beamed like a little girl. 

“Oh, shut up.” Kora pouted. “Someone might hear you. No one knows that I have a crush on him.” 

Aki giggled slyly. “Mhmm~, because no one could ever know that you have a crush on Akemiiiii.” 

Kora scoffed, “stop it.” she said, but a small smile slid across her face. “I have no chance with him anyway.” 

“Hey, you’re friends now, right?”

Moments of silence passed as Kora thought about it. Aki was right. This was a step closer to asking out her crush. 

As all of this was happening, Rina found Chiba and Terasaka walking the same way as her. 

“Hm,” Rina mumbled. She ran up to them and rested her arms on their shoulders. “Heya, boys,” she said. 

“Oh, Nakamura, was it?” Terasaka asked. 

“Yeah, yeah, call me Rina.” She replied. 

“Rina, sounds good,” Terasaka nodded. “So, you live this way too?” 

“Yeah,” Rina said. 

“Cool, let’s all walk home together.” Chiba mumbled. He sounded salty, but his voice was so quiet that they couldn’t tell. 

Overall, the teens enjoyed their first day. Sure, their teacher and class might not have been the best environment for them. But they knew what they’d deal with throughout the year, and how to deal with it. Maybe high school wouldn’t be so hard after all.

***

  
April wasn’t too much of a doozy. The only catch was that everyone had to pick a club. 

“Come on, Chiba. You still haven’t picked a club?” Rina said. 

The teens decided to meet at a park to help pick their clubs. They sat at one of the benches. 

“Whatever,” Chiba mumbled, “what clubs did you all join?” 

“English,” Rina replied. 

“Track,” Kora said. 

“Volleyball,” Aki said. 

“Judo,” Tsuki replied. 

“Kendo,” Akemi said. 

“Calligraphy,” Terasaka said. 

“Never took you for the artsy type.” Aki tilted her head. 

“This schmooz of a school didn’t have hockey.” Terasaka shrugged. 

“What about you, Yao?” Chiba asked. 

“Mathematics,” Yao answered simply. 

“Seriously? How can you enjoy a subject like that?” Kora scrunched her nose. 

“//Same way Rina enjoys English.//“ Yao replied. “Oh, sorry, did I start speaking in English? Sorry, I do that sometimes.” She got all flustered, like she was nervous about speaking English 

“//Wait, are you fluent?//“ Rina asked. She bounced out of her seat excitedly. 

“//Yeah, are you?//“ Yao said. Rina nodded. 

“Whatever, you two, we get it.” Tsuki slammed his hand on the back of the bench. “We’re here to help Chiba.” 

“Sorry,” Rina and Yao apologized. 

“Anyway, Chiba, are their any sports you enjoy?” Yao asked. 

“Call me Eichan.” Chiba said. “But no, unless shooting at a range counts.” 

“So you wanna work with guns?” Aki concluded. “Or at least, you wanna be able to shoot something? Maybe archery would work.” 

Eichan thought about it. “Look, maybe I should just join something normal like baseball, or basketball.” 

“You can’t be serious, Eichan,” Akemi said. “Do what you’re most comfortable with. If it’s archery, do archery. But if you wanna settle for another club, that’s fine too.” 

“Come on,” Terasaka nudged Eichan’s arm. “You know what you wanna do.” 

Eichan took a deep breath. “Okay, I choose...a-archery.” 

“Yay,” they cheered. Eichan seemed happy, too. 

The rest of April rolled by and, before they knew it, it was May. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Make sure to leave advice and kudos! I appreciate you all bunches!


	4. May

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Forgive me,bthis ch is so bad T^T

“Put those seatbelts on and pay attention. Midterms are at the end of the month and it’s my job to get you up to speed on everything that’ll be on those.” Mr. Takaoka said. “You’re A Class, you better get in the top fifty, you hear?” 

Tsuki opened his mouth, but thought better of it.  Yeah, we get it—you want us in the top fifty. You’ve only said it about a hundred times. was what he could’ve said. 

Rina pursed her lips as she was thinking the same thing. It was just old, and annoying at that point. 

“Now, strap on. This is gonna be a bumpy ride.” The teacher smiled weirdly. The teens felt put off by it. 

Midterms did feel like a drag. But it’d be done and over with by the end of the month. 

They drilled the same concepts over and over again, getting into their heads that it was going down but they’d need to be going up. 

“Man, midterms suck.” Akemi complained at lunch one day. “I’m gonna fail math.” 

“Aren’t we all?” Rina leaned on her hand, smirking. She had a laidback air to her that could chill even important things such as midterms. 

“Not me,” Tsuki stuck his thumb out at himself. 

“Of course not you, airhead,” Rina snipped. ‘Airhead’ had become a common nickname for Tsuki. “And not Yao, either—both of you are gonna dominate midterms. I’m only good at English.” 

“Well, you got fifth on the entrance exams, so I don’t see why you won’t place in the midterms.” Aki smiled. Again, she was the definition of positive and pretty. 

“All we have to do is keep D Class off the top ranks.” Kora, the voice of reason, said. “We’re already in A Class. D Class doesn’t stand a chance.” She was levelheaded, so she could reason with anyone. 

“Not like Kunugi-sh*t-ka has anything to provide anyway.” Terasaka crossed his arms. His brow furrowed. “Even if I get dropped to D Class, it won’t matter. All that matters is that we get good grades.” 

“Kunugi-sh*t-ka?” Eichan chuckled. 

“Yeah, yeah, it’s some of my best work.” Terasaka said proudly. 

“Hey, why don’t we study together?” Aki asked, smiling with the innocence of a small child. 

“Totally,” Akemi replied. 

“I’m down.” Rina said. 

“We can study at my place.” Aki kept her wide smile. “Are you all free on Friday, by any chance? After clubs, of course.” 

They all were free. But, for the ones who did sports, their clubs might’ve taken a little longer than usual. 

It seemed to work out, though. 

  
***

“What the heck? Is this seriously her place?” Terasaka said, flicking the gate. 

“I mean, of course she’s loaded. Her dad’s a baseball player for the big leagues. But heck,” Rina admired the handiwork of the house, “I didn’t expect her to be  this rich.” 

“What? You mean you’re surprised?” Kora said as if this was just another house. “Of course she’s rich.” 

“Really, Kora,” Tsuki crossed his arms, “you can’t seriously be cool with this.” 

“Aki and I were childhood friends. So I’ve been to her house many times. She used to live on an even bigger plot of land.” Kora mentioned. 

What the heck?  The other teens thought. 

Yao took the initiative to ring the doorbell. It was one of those really fancy speaker boxes where you rung the doorbell and the owner could talk to you. 

The land was a widespread plane of grass and garden with a wide path leading to the front door. The house was really something within itself. It’s exterior portrayed something like the White House in America, but smaller and more...square. It was still a huge house. The backyard was sure to be something bigger. 

“O my gosh, you’re all finally here!” Aki exclaimed, riding up to them on horseback. She got off. “Sorry, the garden’s a bit of a mess.” She opened the gate. “Come on, I’ve been waiting for you all. I left volleyball early just to prepare.” 

So you could ride up to us on your horse? 

“Dinner’ll be ready in an hour. But I’ve prepped the library so we can study for the time being.” Aki bounced, ignoring how much the other teens were admiring the property. “What do you all like to eat? My mom’s cooking yakisoba and warm soba. So feel free to pick one or the other.” 

Another woman opened the front door. “Oh, are these your friends?” 

Aki nodded, “yes. Friends, I’d like you to meet my mom.” 

They stood awkwardly before Yao and Rina waved. 

“You can call me Ms. Yukiko or Mrs. Sugino, whichever you’re more comfortable with.” The mom said. 

They nodded. Aki led them into the atrium, and straight through the house. 

Eichan, like his dad, loved architecture. He looked at everything: the structured pathway, how easily the oak door swung into a beautiful atrium; the high ceiling, the marbled stairs, the regal dining table and chairs, etc.. There was so much to look at. 

All the teens, aside from Aki and Kora, tried to not look around too much. It was much bigger than any house they’d ever stayed in. Kora’s house wasn’t much smaller, but the plot of land she lived on was. 

“This is the dining hall. Those are our fish, Ai and Koi. ~~~” Aki rambled on. “Finally, this is our library.” 

Immediately, Yao and Tsuki‘s jaws dropped. 

“There’re so many books.” Yao squealed. 

“I could read here forever.” Tsuki smiled, which was abnormal. 

Yao and Tsuki immediately went to the same bookshelf. 

“Oh, my gosh, they have Osamu Dazai.” Yao grabbed No Longer Human. 

“And they even have Chuuya Nakahara.” Tsuki slid For The Tainted Sorrow from the shelf. 

“Huh, never expected them to squeal over a library.” Eichan said. 

The two shot him a look. Terasaka’s brow furrowed again. 

“Yeah, yeah, fangirl or boy or whatever over Japanese books all you want. This library is chock full of English novels too.” Rina looked at a collection of American and British books. 

“Guys, let’s not forget that we’re here to study.” Kora leveled with them. 

Yao and Tsuki put back the books, reluctantly, and walked over to one of the tables. 

“This is where I set up for us to study.” Aki said. “But feel free to move around the library. If you wanna read something, also feel free.” She kept smiling. “Now, what should we go over first?” 

And they set off on studying what they felt like. Tsuki and Yao helped go over math and some of science. Nakamura did the same but with English. Surprisingly, Aki was really good with Japanese and Akemi with social studies. 

Meanwhile, Yukiko was cooking. She turned off the heat and let the noodles sit in the hot water. She set her elbows on the counter and massaged her temples. The woman sighed a long sigh. 

When will he come back?  Yukiko thought. 

It was hard not having a man in the house. Sure, they had money, but Aki was missing a father and Yukiko was missing her husband. Tomohito wasn’t the closest to her in junior high, but they had slowly gotten closer through high school and university. He was the only thing on her mind at the moment. 

Yukiko heard footsteps down the hall. “Hello?” She asked into the apparent darkness. She went to turn the lights on.

“I’m home.” A voice called. She turned the lights on. “Sorry, the coach called. He wanted me to stay but I told him ‘nah, I’d rather be with my family.’” 

Yukiko beamed as tears filled her eyes. “T-Tomo!” She cried. She hugged him and buried her face in his chest. “You’re home. You’re finally home!” 

Tomohito played with her hair. “Of course. I wanted to see my two favorite girls. Now, where’s Aki?” 

“She’s in the library. She invited some friends over to study.” Yukiko replied. 

“Oh yeah, is Kora here too?” Tomo asked. His wife nodded. “Might as well surprise her and Aki.” 

He walked back down the hall, into the dining room. He then walked the same path as the teens and went into the library. 

Aki heard the footsteps, and the door creaking. “Mom? Is dinner ready?” 

“Quite the opposite,” Tomo replied. “I’m home, honey.” 

The other teens watched as Aki bounced. The table was near the front door, so Aki could easily see her dad. 

“Father,” she cried. “Is it really you?” 

“Of course it is.” Tomo said. 

Aki tackled him with a hug, “finally!” 

Akemi’s eyes became wide. “Is that...?“ 

“Ah, who do we have here?” Tomo smiled. “Kora-chan, I recognize you. But who are these other little troublemakers?” 

Aki giggled. “These are the friends I was texting you about.” 

They introduced themselves. 

Akemi fanboyed. “I’m such a big fan. Seriously, I never thought I’d meet you.” 

“You’re name’s Akemi, huh?” Tomo said. “What’s your last name again?” 

“Maehara,” Akemi answered. 

Tomo paused for a second, but grinned, “oh, alright.” He took a picture out and a pen, then signed it. “Here ya go.” 

Akemi was beaming. 

The others were just as amazed. 

“Well, I’m gonna help your mom prep dinner. Have fun and study hard!” Tomo said. 

“We will.” Aki beamed as her father left. He closed the door. “That means dinner’ll be ready soon.” 

They got back to studying. 

Tomo walked back to his wife, “Yukiko, honey.”

“Yeah?” She asked. 

“I think we just met everyone else’s kids.” Tomo’s eyes narrowed, “including Asano’s.” 

Yukiko’s mouth opened. “What? You don’t mean the one from junior high, do you? What was his name? Gakushu?” 

Tomo nodded. “Well, at least we met the other’s kids.” 

“Which ones?” 

“Karasuma, duh, Akabane, Maehara, Terasaka, Chiba, and Nakamura.” 

  
***

Midterms were the next week and Class A was prepared for whatever was thrown their way. 

They got the first subject. The questions became difficult the more they dug in to the test. 

This is super frustrating.  Rina thought. What the heck? We barely learned this. 

“It’s just a systematic equation.” She remembered Tsuki telling her. “But the difference is that there’s three systems instead of two.” 

Right, Tsuki and Yao taught us this.  Rina smirked and finished the systematic equations. 

Just remember what we went over,  Akemi thought.  Huh, of course, just a simple triangle. Trig is easier than I thought.  He scribbled the answer down. 

They finished the math portion, then moved to English. Yao and Rina were fluent, therefore making this portion somewhat easier. But there were many vocabulary words. There was even one part where the students had to guess what book an excerpt was from. 

I read the first two pages,  Yao bit her lip,  but this is definitely from A Clockwork Orange. 

Tsuki racked his brain.  I read this, didn’t I? There’s A Clockwork Orange but what the heck is this? Screw it. It sounds like My Antonia. 

Then came science, and social studies—the teens were fine with those. There were a few tricky parts with the social studies portion, but it overall turned out fine. 

Last but not least was Japanese. Aki and Kora killed it. Kora had a crazy good memory while Aki just enjoyed reading poems. There were also some other parts but poems were a big deal. 

Finally, it was over and the students could settle down. 

“Agh, I swear, I did so bad.” Akemi rested his hands on his neck. He, Tsuki, and Yao were walking towards the station, as always. 

“I’m sure you did fine.” Yao smiled. “After all, I probably wouldn’t have done well in social studies if it wasn’t for you.” 

“Yeah, let’s be honest.” Tsuki looked up. “We’re all gonna get in the top fifty.”

“No sh*t, Sherlock.” Yao said. 

Is she being sarcastic, salty, or both?  The boys thought. 

“You two definitely will, so will Kora and Rina. But me?” Akemi frowned. 

Yao grinned. “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure you’ll score, even if it’s 48th or something.” 

“True,” Tsuki said, “you don’t need to be in the top ten, just the top fifty.” 

Akemi started to smile, “guess so.”

  
***

“Alright, scores are in.” Mr. Takaoka said. The class sat tensely. “The top fifty will be posted during lunch. But I have your tests right here. None of them are below an 80, so you all are still my students.” 

Is that something we should be thankful for? 

The teacher passed the papers out. It took a bit, but all of them eventually got passed out. 

Some students gasped while others smiled. 

Yao stared at hers, “ew, frickin 91.” She mumbled. Her math was 100 though. 

“Now, to go over places,” Mr. Takaoka took a sheet of paper from a small yellow package. “On the math portion, first in the class, ooh, and in the whole grade, goes to Yaokata Asano, as expected.” 

What the heck does that mean?  Yao wondered skeptically. 

“For the English portion, first in the class, and again, also in the whole grade, goes to Rina Nakamura.” 

Again, dead silence passed within the classroom. Of course the ones in  that  friend group got it. Who else? 

“On the science portion, first in the class goes to Tsuki Akabane. Unfortunately, first in the whole grade goes to Haruka Takebayashi of D Class. Careful class, we might be getting a transfer.” 

Are we supposed to be excited or somethin’?  Terasaka thought. 

It was still silent. No one said a word, no one cheered for anyone. 

“Alright, now onto social studies. First in the whole class, and again, in the whole grade, goes to Akemi Maehara.” 

No cheering. Silence still crept across the room. 

“Last but not least, we have Japanese. First in the whole class and in the whole grade goes to Takoaki Sugino.” 

Still, no one cheered. Why would they? It was painfully obvious who’d clear the top spots on any exam. It was Aka-airhead-bane, Yao Asano, duh, Naka-snark-head-mura, mainly, and basically anyone else in  that friend group was sure to have wiped the floor. 

“Great job, A Class.” Mr. Takaoka grinned creepily. “Again, be on the lookout for your rank. If you get anywhere below fifty, I won’t hesitate to drop you all the way to D Class.” 

It was silent. Tension filled the room. There was no knife sharp enough to cut through it. 

“What are you all on about?” Their teacher chided. “Are you sad that a kid from D Class is gonna transfer here? I’d say that’s reasonable but...“ Mr. Takaoka paused. Seeing that no one said anything, he frowned, “you all got balls to be like this. What‘s happenin’?” 

Yao and Tsuki tensed. Yao looked back at Tsuki, both locking eyes. They hated it. Rina, Akemi, and Aki hated it, Kora, Chiba, and Terasaka too. 

We don’t wanna be put up on a pedestal like that.  They all thought. The rest of the class was clueless, but they knew to shut their traps. 

“Hey, teach,” Tsuki said with bitter confidence, “you’re the one who taught us to keep our mouths shut. If you wanted us to talk, you shouldn’t have put Nakamura and I down when this year started.” But his hands shook under his desk. Inevitably, he was scared. 

The class, the teacher, the hallways were all silent. Ten minutes had flown by in what felt like two minutes. Tsuki’s words rang within their heads, especially Mr. Takaoka’s. The teacher grunted, then continued class. There was an awkward tension everyone could feel. 

Lunch finally came. 

Yao and Rina sighed as if a burden had been lifted off their shoulders. The friend group walked to the lunchroom to secure a spot before the other classes did. 

“Man, what the f*ck was up with that?” Akemi narrowed his eyes at all of us, slamming his lunch down on the table in the process. 

Tsuki exhaled. “To get you to curse like that takes a lot. Look Akemi, we’re all pissed that the *ss-hat was only proud of us cuz of our grades.” 

Kora stood up. “But seriously, what were we all pissed about? Sure, we hate conflict and the fact that Mr. Takaoka causes it through the fact that we’re in A Class. But didn’t anyone else feel the tension?” 

“Of course we did.” Eichan said. “The whole class felt it.” 

“Anyone in our friend group was gonna have the top spots. Everyone in class knew that.” Yao slowly got out of her seat. “Level with me here, you all don’t actually believe that Mr. Takaoka had our best interests at heart?” 

“Seriously, though,” Rina leaned on her hand. “We’re all tired and whatever. But the reason us people who got first places got so pissed was because Mr. Takaoka tried to categorize us into our own little groups—as if we’re just some dirt balls that can be thrown around.” 

“You piss*ss*s,” Terasaka’s voice suddenly became rougher, “you’re telling me you all hated that? I really hate to be that guy, but I would’ve given anything to be first in math, or social studies, or any subject. Do you guys not understand how hard Eichan and I had to study?” 

The others aside from Eichan, inhaled sharply. It was a hard pill to swallow, especially considering the circumstances. 

“Sorry, Terasaka, you too, Eichan,” Yao took the initiative to apologize, “being at the top isn’t easy either. This is just midterms though. Maybe finals will bring us something a whole lot worse, or better.” 

“I agree,” Aki smiled. She became the voice of reason whenever Kora didn’t want to say anything. “See, I have friends from junior high that have good grades but they need to work super hard for them. I understand where you’re coming from because it’s really tough in your shoes.” Her positivity shed a new light on her friends. 

They ate. It didn’t feel as tense or awkward anymore. Though the question still existed and the answer wasn’t formed perfectly, it was enough to know how others felt about exams and all. 

On the trek home though, Rina, Terasaka, and Eichan walked in silence. Yao, Tsuki, Akemi, Kora, and Aki were holding conversation in their respective parts, but it seemed that Rina couldn’t bring herself to speak up. It was awkward until Eichan mumbled something and they started talking. 

In May, the teens could take a breather. It wasn’t all that interesting and midterms felt like water under the bridge after it happened. Except, when Mr. Takaoka talked about a transfer, he wasn’t kidding. 

“This is our new student, Haruka Takebayashi. I expect you all to welcome her into the folds of A Class.” The teacher said, shoving a small girl in front of him. “You all got a taste of her talent in science on midterms. Looks like she pulled her way out of D Class.” 

The class clapped politely, congratulating her on ‘getting out of D Class’. The ones who didn’t congratulate her were in  that friend group, but they still clapped. 

Haruka sat in the back by Tsuki. He ignored her for most of the period, then said hi during passing period. 

“Nice to meet you,” Haruka smiled, “call me Haruka.” She was a vibrant and energetic child. 

“Cool, call me Tsuki.” He sat back in his chair. “Wanna sit with my group during lunch? Pretty sure they wouldn’t mind.” He kept a calm demeanor and didn’t smile. 

“Sure, that sounds cool.” Haruka said. 

Class went by smoothly and lunch came relatively quickly. 

“You all know Haruka, right? The new girl?” Tsuki said as he sat down. “I invited her to sit with us.” 

“//Just another person to deal with,//” Yao said. 

“Yao,” Rina snipped. “Haruka //isn’t that bad.//“ 

“You have any idea what they’re saying?” Terasaka tilted his head. 

“Something about our new friend,” Tsuki said. “Whatever, she‘ll be here in a minute so save a seat.” 

Kora, Aki, and Haruka were talking when they arrived at the lunch table. 

“Guys, Takebayashi here is a lot of fun.” Aki beamed. 

“Hi, I’m Haruka Takebayashi but you can call me Haruka.” She smiled sweetly. Her voice was also high, but it had nothing on Aki’s. 

“We saved you a seat.” Rina said. “Feel free to stay or leave. We’ll just make sure airhead and scumbag don’t bother you.” 

Tsuki and Akemi shot her looks. Haruka stayed completely clueless, then sat. 

They caught Haruka up to speed on what had happened that year and what A Class was like. 

“A Class is fine.” Yao tried the ‘ease her into it’ tactic. 

“Shut up, you know you hate it too.” Tsuki came out straightforwardly. 

“Tsuki~,” Yao snipped, “we’re supposed to convince her that A class is cool.” 

“Yeah, whatever, but I bet Haruka will do just fine considering she got here all the way from D Class.” Aki said. 

“This is gonna be a bumpy ride, is all we’re trying to say.” Kora sat putting Haruka’s hair into a braid. “I guess A Class is something you’ll have to judge on your own.” 

“It sounds a little boring so far.” Haruka said. “But still, it also sounds like a lot of fun.” 

“It’s hell if you’re alone.” Tsuki said. “If you don’t have friends, it just feels like an isolation room.” 

“Good thing I ended up with you all, then.” New girl smiled. 

They kept eating and talking with Haruka about how much A Class sucked. Turns out, Haruka was on the swim team. 

May rolled by. Only the junior high got a trip at the end of the month, but high school didn’t. 

As soon as midterms happened and the transfer came, it felt like May had flown by. 


	5. June

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *words within double slashes—-aka this: //...//—-means that the character is speaking in English.
> 
> *ATTENTION: my writing goes down severely in the next few ch (except for a few scenes)! If you want, you can wait til, ch 7 and read that and onwards.

“Wow, it’s getting a lot hotter now.” Aki mentioned as the kids walked back to class from PE. “Should we do something?” 

“Maybe we could go to the Sanno festival.” Yao replied. “I’ve heard that it’s really cool.” 

“Really? Never really pegged you for the nerdy type.” Tsuki rested his hands on his neck out of habit. 

“I think that would be kinda fun. Apparently the Sanno festival is a really great experience.” Kora said. 

“Sounds fun,” Terasaka shrugged. “The parade’s supposed to be amazing or something. Maybe we’ll have a good time there.” 

“Cool,” Eichan said, “let’s go.” 

“You all in, Rina, Akemi, Haruka?” Yao asked. 

“Sure,” Rina replied. “Festivals are pretty dope.” 

“Count me in,” Akemi winked. 

“Sure, I’d love to hang out.” Haruka smiled. 

They exchanged numbers so they could start planning stuff from then on. They made a group chat and everything. They called it ‘Life Is Fun’ because none of them could come up with a good name anyway. 

June was another month of prepping. The students had to prepare for finals so the curriculum became even more rigorous than before. 

  
***

The Sanno festival came on a weekend in the middle of the month. The teens all met at the ‘entrance’. 

“Alright, y’all,” Yao said. She was surprisingly good at planning things. “Let’s go see the parade. Then we can get some food from that restaurant.” She pointed. 

The parade was fun and pretty. It was long, but well worth the wait. The shrines on wheels were beautiful displays of their culture. The teens even spotted some foreigners. 

They eventually followed the parade to the Hie Shrine where the shrines on wheels were carried up the steps. 

Yao just wondered how much your shoulders hurt after all the heavy lifting. 

“Alright, what are we doing next?” Rina asked. 

“We’re getting food.” Kora replied.. “Then we can go to the park and sit for awhile.” 

“Sure,” some replied. Others just nodded or didn’t care. They walked over to a restaurant. 

“Get whatever you want, everyone. I’m paying!” Aki exclaimed happily. 

“She’s basically a gold mine,” Rina mumbled to Haruka. 

The teens sat and a waitress came by. They ordered. 

They got their food and ate, after folding their hands and bowing their heads respectively. Akemi and Rina practically inhaled their food. Yao and Chiba ate slowly. The rest just ate. 

“Ramen, huh?” Tsuki said, out of the blue. 

“Yeah, I know that takoyaki’s the thing or whatever. But ramen is so much better.” Yao slurped her noodles up. 

Conversation struck up and the restaurant was soon noisy as people made their way in. The teens finished and got up. 

“To the park, right?” Yao asked as they walked out. 

“Right,” Kora replied. They walked to the park and took a breather. 

“All in all, I say this was a good day.” Aki smiled. “We saw a parade that happens only every two years,  and we got to eat together.” 

“Is that seriously what your favorite thing was? Us just eating together?” Akemi cocked an eyebrow up. 

“Of course,” Aki said, “I’ve wanted a group of friends like this to hang out with since elementary school.” 

Kora smiled. Aki was happy, therefore she was happy. 

“It’s great that we all came here.” Haruka mentioned. “I loved the shrine. And since you all are such a great group of friends, that made it a hundred times better.” 

“Anyway, what should we do next?” Tsuki asked. 

“Maybe we can go fishing or something like that.” Yao said. “I’ve heard there’s a great river near our school that’s chock full of fish.” 

Rina chuckled a little. “Wow, sounds like your into the outdoorsy stuff.” 

Akemi grinned. “Fishing sounds like fun. I’d love doing anything involving animals.” 

Terasaka folded his arms. “Sounds like it’d be fun. Not like we’ll catch anything but it’ll be great to get outside.” 

Chiba nodded. “I’m in.” 

The friends talked and laughed for awhile after that. 

Overall, nothing aside from the Sanno happened in June. The teens hung out, studied together, and exchanged facts. 

  
***

“Not to butt into anyone’s business, but is anyone here gay?” Terasaka asked randomly at lunch one day. “You all don’t have to answer, but I’m not gonna judge since I’m gay as hell.” 

“Same here, Ti.” Rina replied. “Look, I think I can trust you all enough. We’re all pretty accepting and whatever, so I’ll just come out of the closet. I’m lesbian.” 

Yao started clapping quietly. “What a way to come out, huh? Whatever, guess I’ll go ahead too. I’m bi but with a preference towards men.” 

“Same here,” Tsuki said. 

“Woah, with a preference for men?” Aki asked. “Not judging, just wondering.” 

“Look, when you have two dads that are gay-*ss*s all the time, it’s kinda hard not to also be a bit of a gay-*ss.” Tsuki replied. Aki nodded. 

“This is shaping up to be interesting.” Kora smiled. “I’m straight, but this is pretty cool.” 

“Same, I’m also straight. But I believe I’m something they call asexual, or ace.” Aki said. “All that means is that I’m fine with relationships, but... it  is a big no-no for me.” 

“Aki, aces are totally valid.” Yao mentioned. 

“That’s awesome.” Haruka exclaimed. “Also, I’m straight.” 

“//Wow, the amount of straight girls freaks me out a little bit.//” Rina mumbled. Yao eyed her but didn’t say anything. 

“//What? Do you like one of them?//“ Tsuki said, throwing everyone off. 

“Oh, so there’s another one.” Terasaka grunted. 

Rina started blushing profusely though. “//Mind your own business.//“ 

Yao sighed. “Guys, shut up.” 

“Don’t worry, I’m only half fluent.” Tsuki smirked, “but I know what you’re saying most of the time.” 

“Aw, seriously, Tsuki~?” Akemi whined. 

Aki giggled and Kora laughed a little. 

“So, back on topic,” Terasaka said, “anyone else willing to come out of the closet? Again, you don’t have to answer.” 

The table was quiet for a second. Uncertainty could be felt in the air. 

“Hm,” Akemi bit his tongue, then spoke, “alright. I’ll pull a Rina and just come out and say it. I’m pan.” 

“Akemi, you are way too gay to be just pAn.” Yao teased, without missing a beat. 

“Shut up,” Akemi pouted. 

Tsuki chuckled. “Yao’s right, ya know? You flirt with girls, sure. But compared to the boys, it’s nothing.” 

“Pan, ace, bi, whatever,” Terasaka grunted. “It’s great that you all feel comfortable enough to come out to your gay-*ss friends. Now, I’m gonna ask a more serious question. Feel free to answer, feel free to not. Who here can comfortably come out to their parents? If you already have, do you feel comfortable with them knowing, and do  they seem comfortable with it?” 

“I’ll say this in English,” Yao said. “//I don’t even feel comfortable in my own skin. My dad hasn’t supported the gay community and my mom left awhile ago. I just don’t know if I want to, you know?//“ 

Rina bit her bottom lip. 

“Can you translate?” Akemi asked. 

“I’d rather not,” Tsuki replied. 

“Same here,” Rina shook her head. 

“I said it in English for a reason,” Yao frowned. “But you guys can translate it.”

Rina spat it out first. She understood Yao’s words better, anyhow. 

“If it’s not a touchy subject, why’d your mom leave?” Kora asked. 

“Get back to the original question,” Yao crossed her arms. Her eyes seemed to convey the message, ‘I said, leave me alone.’ 

It was quiet for a second. The lunchroom was loud, but their table was silent. They looked at each other, as if trying to figure out who should speak next. Some of them opened their mouths, but shook their heads and thought better of it. 

“Both Tsuki and I’s parents are gay,” Akemi spoke up, motioning to him and Tsuki. “I’ve come out to mine and they’re completely cool with it.” 

“I also came out to mine. They didn’t really care, said I was their son either way.” Tsuki shrugged. 

“Same here,” Aki smiled. “My parents also didn’t exactly care. They just asked me if I was sure. Of course, I said yes. It was nice. Honestly, being ace is probably one of the easier things to come out as.” 

Kora agreed by nodding her head. “Yeah, plus you don’t have to come out as ‘straight.’” 

“Mhm,” Haruka smiled, “yeah. Being straight is probably one of the easiest things ever.” She giggled, breaking the tension from before. 

“I admire gay people,” Kora put in. “Gays are a lot stronger than straights. By strong, I mean they’re able to handle a lot more.” 

Their responses shocked the rest. It was the perspective of a straight person, something no gay person in the friend group had really gotten. 

Rina breathed out a chuckle. “Thank you, Kora.” She smiled. “Anyway, I’ve come out to my mom and she actually knew all along. Like, she would’ve been confused if I was completely straight.” 

Aki giggled, “any of us would’ve been. Not saying anything Rina, but, like Akemi, you are way too gay to be straight.” 

That got a small laugh out of the girls. After, there was a pause. Yao took a bite of her sandwich. 

“I’ve come out to my parents too.” Eichan finally spoke. “I’m pan, and they don’t exactly care about the gay stuff. When I told them I was pan, they were perfectly okay with it.” 

“Same here, ‘cept I’m gay as hell.” Terasaka said. 

They stayed quiet, eating and smiling for a moment. It was a great thing to know that you weren’t the only gay one. 

Lunch finished. Everyone headed back to class and the day went on it’s way. 

Class ended, they cleaned up, and everyone went on their way. 

Yao went home with Tsuki and Akemi as always. They took separate buses and Yao was alone. She seemed fine. After all, that day had felt pretty good. She had gotten lots of her questions answered. But one question still racked her brain from two weeks ago, back in May. 

“...Yaokata Asano, as expected.” Mr. Takaoka had said, when naming who got first place in what after midterms. 

‘As expected’...what the hell was that supposed to mean?  Yao thought to herself. She arrived at her house, walked in, then set her bag down, and went to her living room. Her father, Gakushu, was on his computer, as per usual, and sitting in his big chair. He was scanning the screen carefully, looking through the specifics of his work. 

“Is the company okay?” Yao asked as she sat on the couch across from him. “And how’s grandpa?” 

Gakushu looked up, his eyes softening at the sight of his child. He closed his computer. “The company’s fine,” he responded, “we’re working out the details of a new rocket, that’s all. But //NASA,// the American one, really has us on our *ss*s.” 

Yao chuckled a bit. “//Sounds like America is having fun.// What about grandpa? He doin’ okay?” 

“You could say something along the lines of that.” Gakushu replied. 

The child and parent looked at each other for seconds on end. Their eyes were wonders; beautiful coves that told true stories not even an eloquent poet could make up. They held depth, and many people who surrounded the two wondered what hid behind those eyes. Even Yao’s closest friends didn’t know her full story yet. Kora, Tsuki, and Akemi wondered the most. They wanted to know. 

“Hm, what do you want?” Gakushu salted. “Your eyes tell a lot more than you think.” 

“I don’t want anything much.” Yao answered. “Just wanted to ask you a question, can you handle that?” 

Their teasing often went beyond just subtle glares and deep eyes, it went into a mean and honest battle. But they were just joking, all the time. 

“Oh, of course,” her father smiled, “I wouldn’t want to hold anything from my poor child. After all, I must prepare you for life.” 

Yao nodded. “Hm, well then, answer this for me. After midterms, our teacher was reading who got first place in what. He read my name for math, of course. But, after he read my name, he said, ‘as expected.’ Perhaps you could give some perspective on that.” 

Silence crept across the household. 

Yao knew; she had stepped into unfamiliar, and dangerous, territory. “I mean, you don’t have to answer. But I just wanted to know. Does the name Takaoka ring a bell? How could he have known about the Asano family? And, while we’re at it, why is it so important that I’m the one blazing a trail for the rest of my class? Huh? Does the name Asano strike any resemblance within Kunugigaoka?” 

She was cold, ice cold, through it all. Her tone was much different from when she talked with her friends. It became dark and angry, in a way. She wanted to know. She really wanted to know. 

“I see how it is, then.” Gakushu frowned, his eyes purveying a similar cold harshness to that of Yao’s voice. “Alright, I think it’s time you learned about your past. Of course, you know about my old reputation at Kunugigaoka. I was the top of the tops, the one who everyone looked up to. Grandpa was the principal, and, naturally, people held high expectations for me.” 

“Yeah, yeah, grandpa, but get to the point. Who were you back then? Why does the name Asano matter so much within Kunugigaoka, or rather, to Mr. Takaoka?” 

“His name means nothing. It doesn’t strike anything within me.” 

“You’re lying.” 

“Possibly so,” Gakushu smirked, knowing he had possibly evaded the question. 

Yao stared him in the eyes. “You still haven’t answered my question. I know about your reputation back then, why does it matter for me now? Why does the name Asano matter so much? Or rather, who took you down? Who threw you from the top of the mountain to the outskirts of the land?” She locked her father’s gaze, making sure he couldn’t avoid what she was asking. She glared daggers into him. 

Gakushu’s brow furrowed, and he gritted his teeth in anger. “I don’t want to talk about it.” He looked away from his child. 

“It’s bound to come out at some point, why not make that now?” 

Silence again crept around the house. Yao could hear her own breathing, it was that quiet. 

She spoke again. “Answer. Me.” Her voice growled, and became deep. 

Asanos has a way of things. When they got angry, they never lashed out or snapped. Rather, they’d keep it subtle. Their enemy would be too scared to back out then. It was something Yao had learned to do from a young age. 

Gakushu wanted to keep quiet, but he knew his daughter was right. He had to tell her at some point. “You wanna know who flung me down? Fine, I’ll start from the beginning. Remember what I told you about E Class? They were the End Class, the ones everyone revolted. Yet somehow, by some measures, they slowly crept into the top fifty. Slowly but surely, they threw A Class down to the ground. 

“I was the head, the elite, the shining sun around which the school revolved around, as was everyone who got to the top fifty. But E Class somehow took us by surprise. The one who flung me down was there, in the End Class. I first saw his name on the top fifty of the midterms—then, again, in finals, and second term midterms. He kept coming back, bringing his class with him. But it was on the second term finals where he finally got me. He beat me out for the top spot, first place. Though I got second, he knocked me down a peg. He and his stupid class knocked all of A Class down.” 

Yao stayed casual, but smirked with satisfaction. “If you don’t mind me asking, what was his name? What was the name of this academically worthy opponent?” 

Gakushu’s eyes darkened. “I hate even speaking his name. He was respectable, but sadistic and downright crazy. But his grades got him anywhere. He knew how to keep me down. He knew how to keep me below him.” 

“Yeah, yeah, just say his name.” Yao pouted. 

Her father took a deep breath. “Fine, his name...was Akabane Karma.” 

Yao inhaled sharply, but stayed calm and made sure her eyes didn’t give any signal of alarm. “Guess his name makes sense.” She said, before tensely walking to her room. She didn’t know what to say, so she stayed quiet about it. 

Yao was quiet about it all for weeks, and July soon rolled around. Her exterior never changed, but she wanted to ask Tsuki about his dad. She wanted to. 


	6. June

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay, again, wait till ch7, which I just realized is ch 8. Yeah, wait till then for good shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **words within double slashes—-aka this: //...//—-means that the character is speaking in English

“Alright, if you thought midterms were a doozy, get ready for finals.” Mr. Takaoka said, grinning. The class just found it creepy. “We’re gonna be doing a lot of drilling and a lot of studying. If you wanna slack off, that’s fine. Though, I’m sure you won’t have much fun in D Class.” 

The pace of school picked up in July. It was time consuming, and a restless period of studying. 

Lunch seemed like their only break time and even then, they had their noses in a book or math equation. They discussed things, took down notes of everything down to the tiniest, most painful detail. 

“Ugh, finals really do suck.” Akemi complained after school. The teens were walking through the open courtyard. 

“Yeah, no kidding,” Rina sighed. “Wow, we’re A Class. Why’re  we so special?” 

“Man, this is balls. What does Mr. Taka-*sshead expect from us? Not all of us are frickin’ genies like Yao over here.” Terasaka grunted. 

Yao let out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding. “Guess I can’t speak for everyone, but I think we’ll be okay on finals.” 

“Remember, all we need to do is keep D Class down.” Kora leveled with them again. “It’ll be easy. No offense, Haruka.” 

“None taken,” Haruka replied. She beamed, “D Class just wasn’t interesting, so I like A Class a lot more.” She was the beacon of joy. 

“I don’t feel that ready.” Aki said, “but I’m sure we’ll do amazing on the exams.” She was the beacon of positivity. 

Eichan bit his lip, opened his mouth, then decided against speaking. 

Tsuki noticed this. He didn’t say anything about it though. “Let’s study together again. It worked last time, why don’t we do it again for finals?” He then smirked. “Keep the slackers up too.” He looked at Terasaka and Eichan. 

“*ssh*le,” Terasaka said. 

The girls, plus Akemi, laughed a little. 

“We can have it at my place.” Rina smiled. “I might not have a huge library, but I definitely got a workspace for us. Plus you all can meet my mom.” 

“Sounds fun,” Akemi commented. 

“Saturday at eight in the morning sound good?” 

“Sure,” were some of the responses. Others looked indifferent or nodded. 

***   
  


“Wow, it’s not as big as Aki’s, but Rina’s still got a pretty jacked up place.” Yao said. The teens were waiting outside the door. Again, Yao took the initiative to ring the doorbell. 

The place was a modern, neat house. It was a nice size for just two people. 

Rina answered the door. “You’re finally here.” She smiled. “Come on in. The office is upstairs. I’ll be there in a sec.” 

They took their shoes off and scrambled upstairs. Luckily, the office was right in front of the stairs, so they didn’t get confused. It had a table in the center with pads surrounding it. The teens sat on the pads and waited. 

“It smells good.” Aki commented. 

“Orange Citrus,” Rina walked in, “apparently it’s supposed to relieve stress. Like it?” 

“Yeah, I feel relaxed already.” Aki smiled innocently. 

“Hey there,” a woman who Rina looked like stood in the doorway, “are these the gay-*ss*s you were telling me about?” She looked at her daughter. 

Rina nodded back. 

“Alright,” her mom chuckled, “I’m Ms. Nakamura, but feel free to call me Ms. Rio if you want.” She had an open and friendly composure. “My little troublemaker here tells me you all got top scores on midterms. On such an unforgiving battlefield, it must’ve been hard. Great job. Anyway, what are all your names?” She moved almost too quickly for the teens to keep up. 

The teens introduced themselves. 

Ms. Nakamura just smiled. “Nice to meet you all.” She turned to walk out. “//Be a good host, Rina.//“ 

“//I will, mom.//“ Rina replied. And her mom walked out. “So, should we just do it like last time?” 

“Yeah, but let Haruka do science.” Tsuki said. “She’s better at it than Yao and I.” 

“You willing to do that, Haruka?” Rina asked. 

“Of course,” Haruka replied, “anything to help my friends.” 

From there, they set off studying the same as last time; math, science, English, Japanese, and social studies. There was a lot more information than last time, and they had to consume it all. 

It wasn’t long before 12:00 rolled around. The teens put everything they had into the subjects. It had been four hours with only three subjects done. Their brains were full, no doubt about that, but their stomach’s definitely weren’t. 

“Hey kids, lunch is ready.” Ms. Nakamura stood in the doorway again. 

“Okay, we’ll be down in a minute.” Rina said. Her mom nodded and walked back downstairs. 

They reorganized their materials, then went downstairs. 

“Made some kare raisu for you all,” Ms. Nakamura set plates on the table. It was a long table and had at least ten chairs. There was a smaller table in the corner with only four chairs. 

After folding their hands and nodding respectfully, the teens dug in. 

“//It’s very good.//“ Yao said. “Oh, sorry, I mean, it’s very good.” 

“//Right, mom, Yao is also fluent in English.//“ Rina told her mom. “//And Tsuki is half-fluent.//“ 

“//You all must have fun with that.//“ Ms. Nakamura, like before, just smiled. “Well, enough with English, how have you all been? Finals is coming up, and I understand your teacher is a bit of a pain. It must be hard in A Class.” 

They all looked at each other as if wondering who should speak. 

“It’s had it’s ups and downs.” Yao replied. 

“Yeah, to put it lightly, Mr. Takaoka hasn’t been the nicest.” Aki attempted to keep the situation lighthearted. 

“He’s been really stupid.” Tsuki said straightforwardly. “He has a way about him, ya know? It’s kind of hard to put into words, but it’s like he can’t do anything without bringing you down a peg.” 

“Hm, Mr. Taka-stupid-oka sure sounds like a lot of fun.” The mom chuckled. “Well, I hope you all can get through it. It’s lucky you all found friends so easily.” 

They ate in silence for a bit. It wasn’t an awkward one, everyone was just enjoying their food. 

Rina and Akemi finished first, duh. When Rina went to put her dishes in the sink, Akemi followed. Soon, all of them finished and repeated the same process. 

“//Thank you.//“ Tsuki and Yao happened to say at the same time. 

“//You’re most certainly welcome,//“ Ms. Rio responded. 

Tsuki took it at face value as a ‘you’re welcome’ while Yao understood the whole thing. 

The teens went back upstairs and buckled down. They studied for another two or three hours before they got through everything within every subject. It took way too much brainpower to know everything from midterms, plus all the new material. And this was only first term.

***

The day of finals arrived. It was a complete mess of words and numbers. Even Yao and Tsuki struggled on a few parts, which was abnormal. Luckily, they got through it. Together, they knew how to solve the problems in front of them. 

Finally, it was over. 

“Damn, that was one heck of a final.” Terasaka said after school. The teens were, again, walking through the school’s open courtyard. 

“That wasn’t even a final, that was just brain murder.” Akemi groaned. 

“Tell me about it,” Eichan uttered. 

“Come on, guys, don’t worry so much.” Yao exhaled. “At least we got through it.”

“Whatever, this is only first term,” Tsuki said. 

“Yeah, well, that means second term’s gonna be a lot harder.” Rina sighed. 

“It’ll be fine, we’ll keep studying together.” Aki smiled. 

“Yeah,” Haruka also beamed like a little girl, “plus we’ll be better prepared for college.” 

Kora nodded. “Let’s just hope that Mr. Takaoka doesn’t do anything stupid.” 

They agreed. At least they were out of it for the summer.

***

The top fifty was posted the next day at school. Members of classes were lined up just to see who got what place in what subjects, and overall. 

Yaokata Asano, ranked first place in math, Japanese, English, and overall. 

Takoaki Sugino, ranked second in Japanese and fifth overall. 

Kora Karasuma, ranked fourth in Japanese, fourth in English, and fourth overall. 

Tsuki Akabane, ranked second in math, science, and overall. 

Rina Nakamura, ranked second in English, and third overall. 

Akemi Maehara, ranked first in social studies, fifth in English, and seventh overall. 

Haruka Takebayashi, ranked first in science, and fourteenth overall. 

Uta Terasaka, ranked tenth in English, seventh in Japanese, and eighteenth overall. 

Eiji Chiba, ranked ninth in math, seventh in science, and sixteenth overall. 

People started murmuring into each other’s ears. 

“Damn, Asano’s really livin’ up to her reputation, isn’t she?” 

“Haha, I hear her dad made a reputation for this school.” 

“Kinda sad, if you ask me.” 

“Don’t feel bad for her. All she does is study anyway.” 

Yao heard these comments and hurried into class. She took a deep breath and sat. 

A large crash was heard. Students screamed and some ran away in fear. Others stayed silent, scared that if they moved, something might happen. Yao ran to the doorway to see what it was. 

“Hey, idiots,” Tsuki growled with a half-broken wine bottle in his hands, extending it towards the crowd. “If you wanna talk about my friend that way, go ahead.” He let go of the half-broken bottle. It smashed into a few pieces on the ground. “But I’ll let you know it won’t get you anywhere. At least, not with me around.” 

Yao’s jaw had dropped. She smirked. “Alright, big boy, calm down.” She walked up to Tsuki and patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, I won’t let him kill you, definitely not. After all, what would my reputation be if I did? No, no, maybe  I’ll get to you first.” Her eyes glared daggers into everyone, subtly. There was no doubt she was an Asano, but there was also no doubt she was her own unique type. 

Akemi whistled one of those, ‘hot diggity damn, girl, what the heck’ whistles. 

The bell rang and the classes scattered in a hurry to make it in time. Mr. Takaoka marched down the hall. A Class took their seats. 

“I’m happy to inform you that you are all still my students.” was the first thing the teacher said. He set his stuff down. “Only a few of you got below an 80 on a few subjects, but you didn’t go below a seventy. If you did, I’d have your transfer papers here already. So, for some of you, I am not proud to call you my student.” 

It was dead silent. The ones who had messed up knew exactly who they were, and flinched at being exposed. 

Class went on from there. Soon enough, the students went to lunch. 

“Finally,” Yao sighed. 

“Wow, never seen you that happy to get out of class.” Rina said, tilting her head towards Yao, “did those kid’s comments really get to you?” 

Yao frowned, “no, well...maybe. I knew my dad had a reputation here before, I just didn’t know that...other people knew about it.” She kept her gaze on the ground in front of her. 

“Not saying anything, Tsuki, but that was kind of unexpected.” Kora commented. “I’ve never seen you get that upset over anyone aside from Akemi one or two times.” 

“What can I say?” Tsuki swiped his thumb across his neck. “I’ve been waitin’ to be at the top so I could beat up the dill weeds that always messed with me and my friends.” He chuckled. 

“So, I notice, you’re still a sadist.” Akemi pointed out. 

“Wow, things you don’t see in people everyday.” Yao said. “I have a masochist side to me.” was all she had to say to throw her friends off guard. 

Aki laughed a little. “Wow, so I’m guessing we all have something within us. Now I’m guessing Akemi has a side to him where he actually wants all the flirts to shove off so he can pursue his own love.” 

Akemi pouted. “There was nO need to expose me like that.” 

“And who do you like?” Aki asked. 

Akemi didn’t respond to her question. “So, back to the original topic,” so he dodged it instead, “what’s this whole thing about your reputation? I mean, if it’s an okay subject for you to talk about.” 

Yao stayed silent for a moment. She thought about it, but found it hard to form words. “The old principle of this school was my grandfather.” Slowly but surely, she spoke. “My dad, his only son, was the best student, the top dog. Always, he was in first place, trying to bring everyone down aside from his class, throughout all of junior high and high school. I guess some people know about that whole story.” She scowled. “It’s not like I wanted to uphold that, yet here we are.” 

The others stared at her. 

Rina let out a chuckle. “Heh, wow, is that all? Don’t get me wrong, I’d be pissed in your shoes. But, it’s not like you  have to be like your dad.” 

“Honestly, if you want us to ignore it, we will.” Akemi smiled genuinely at Yao. 

Yao felt a little better. “Sure, thank you all.” 

They got a lunch table and sat. 

The rest of the day went on as normal. The class cleaned up, and they headed to their clubs. After clubs, they headed home. It went smoothly. 

Yao, Tsuki, and Akemi waited at the station for their train to come. 

“So, how’s life been?” Yao asked. “I mean, school kinda sucks but what about at home and at kendo and judo?” 

The train arrived. 

“My family’s fine, if that’s what you’re asking.” Tsuki replied. “And judo’s been okay. The teacher could do better, but then again, nothing’s happened.” 

They boarded the train. 

“Same here,” Akemi said. “Kendo’s been a little slow, but we’re picking up the pace over summer break.” 

“How’s mAtHeMaTiCs going for ya?” Tsuki asked. 

“Couldn’t get any better,” Yao answered. “We do third year stuff, and it’s fun. 

“Ew,” Akemi commented. 

Silence passed between them as the train sped through the tunnel. The sub was noisy as other school kids and adults coming from work had conversations. 

Akemi nudged Tsuki. Tsuki made a face back, but he could tell Akemi was serious. They locked eyes and came to a mental agreement. 

“Yao, since you’re gonna be with us basically everyday when we’re heading home, we thought we’d tell you this.” Tsuki said, before taking a deep breath. “We’re no longer just best friends.” 

Yao wanted to squeal, but contained it and just smiled. “Who asked out who first?” 

“I asked him,” Akemi responded. “Not to brag or anything, but I can read people well when it comes to emotions. This one didn’t even try to hide it, and so didn’t Kora.”

“Damn, even  Kora had feelings for you?” Yao said. “Well, I’m happy that you two are finally together. Not saying anything, but I shipped it from the sidelines.” 

“Gee, not just a masochist, a stalker too,” Tsuki stared blankly. 

“Haha, well, did you two just get together or...?” Yao gestured with her hand. 

“We’ve been together for about two months now, since around midterms.” Akemi grabbed Tsuki’s hand giddily. “It felt good to finally get my feelings on the table.” 

They talked for awhile before splitting ways. Akemi and Tsuki held hands on the bus ride, and while walking home. Akemi was super happy, way too happy while Tsuki was just trying to get through this without blushing too much. 

They walked up stone steps to get to their houses. They were neighbors. 

“Alright, boys, might wanna settle down before everyone sees.” A man joked. 

“Yu!” Akemi exclaimed, letting go of his bf’s hand and running to give the man a hug. 

“Mr. Yuma,” Tsuki waved. 

“Are those our boys?” Another man walked out. 

“Dad!” Akemi smiled. 

“Hey, Mr. Hiroto,” Tsuki waved again. 

“How’d you all do on finals? I bet you got first in social studies.” Hiroto nudged his child. 

“Of course I did.” Akemi showed them his papers. “And I got seventh overall.” 

Tsuki showed them his papers. “I got second overall. In fact, all our friends got within the top twenty.” 

“Dang, I suppose you deserve a little reward.” Hiroto smiled. 

“Who’re your friends?” Yuma asked. 

“They’re just some people we happened to meet. Remember Kora and Aki from junior high? Those two, plus a few others sat at a lunch table with us.” Tsuki replied. “It was a bit of a rough start, but we all got along somehow.” 

“It was pretty fun,” Akemi kept a wide smile on his face, “we’ve made friends with the top of the class, plus a bunch of other super smart people.” 

“Wow, seems like you all got lucky,” Yu said. 

“Are my boys back?” A man walked out, with his husband in tow. 

“Mr. Karma, and Nagisa,” Akemi exclaimed. 

“Hey, dads,” Tsuki waved. 

“Apparently finals went well for them,” Hiro nudged his child, “guess we should treat them to something of their choice.” 

“I bet you both got in the top ten.” Karma teased. 

“Yeah, I got seventh.” Akemi held his papers up. 

“I got second,” Tsuki did the same. 

“Dang, they really  did do well.” Nagisa took a better look at the papers. “So-“ 

“Wait, wait, wait, you got second?” Karma teased his child again. “Who stole first place from you?” 

“Oh, she’s one of my friends. Apparently she has some sort of reputation or something to uphold.” Tsuki put his hands in his pockets, and shrugged. “Can’t blame her for wanting to impress her dad.” 

Immediately, the four adults could smell who the girl was, with the little information they had. 

“I’m guessing we should get your friends together over summer.” Yu somehow made the situation ten times better. 

“Heck yeah, I’m down.” Hiro said. 

“Okay,” Nagisa nodded, “are clubs gonna be an issue or anything?” 

Akemi and Tsuki didn’t really know. Akemi just shrugged in reply. 

“Alright, looks like we got ourselves a plan.” Karma said. 

They talked for awhile after that. It seemed that summer was gonna go smoothly. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Make sure to leave advice and kudos ;>
> 
> I appreciate you all bunches!


	8. Summer Break

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summer break.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate this ch w a passion but go ahead and read if u wanna question my abilities as a writer

Aki was over at Kora’s house. 

“So, you’re gonna do it, right?” She said, laying on her stomach on her bed. 

Kora stayed quiet for a moment. She laid back onto Aki’s pillow. “Of course, I just don’t know how.” 

“Come on, just text him.” 

“Mm,” Kora’s phone shook in her hands. 

Aki slid the phone into her hands and unlocked it, then proceeded to open the messaging app. It was already opened to a certain contact. 

“There ya go,” she placed the phone back in Kora’s hands. “Who knows? Maybe Akemi will text you first.” 

“Yeah, no, he won’t do that.” Kora took a deep breath, letting it all out. “I need to ask him before he gets with someone else.” 

Aki snapped her fingers. “There’s my best friend.” She smiled, then squealed like a little girl as Kora started typing. 

Hey, I know I should probably save this for Valentine’s Day, but it’s so far. I wanted to tell you this now. I like you. I’ve liked you since third year. 

Just as Kora was about to send it, a new message popped up on both their phones. It was in the group of chat. 

Aki opened it first, with Kora right behind her. 

Akemi: 

Tsuki and I have a big announcement! 

Tsuki: 

yeah, whatever

get it over with 

Yao: 

:D

Rina: 

come on, spill

Akemi: 

Tsuki and I have been dating for awhile now

Tsuki: 

we thought we’d tell you cuz you have to deal with us anyway 

Kora:

Wow, that’s great, guys! 

Terasaka: 

OUR GAY*SS*S FUNALLY ASKED EACH OTHER PUT

Haruka: 

This is so exciting! 

Hope everything goes great for you two

Yao: 

*intense squealing* 

Again, Akemi was always way too gay to be just p A n

Akemi: 

lOl

Tsuki: 

don’t worry, I have to deal with his gayness now

Aki: 

Hooray! 

Glad you both got your feelings on the table 

Yao: 

<https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9pCybcpkm5c>

ask Tsuki to translate, Akemi

Eichan: 

cool

Kora: 

:>>

Those are our gay boys

Their texts were complete fakes. 

Kora looked towards the wall, tears filling her eyes as she deleted the whole confession she was about to send. “Yeah, I’m happy for them.” 

Aki side-hugged her. “Aw, it’s okay. We’ll get through this together. He was bound to have feelings for his best friend anyway.” 

Kora nodded. She wiped a single tear from her cheek. “Guess so,” was all she could bring herself to say. She had expected to get rejected, but not in that way. 

They spent the rest of the day doing a few activities to distract themselves from everything. 

The break was in full swing. Most clubs continued meeting. Clubs for sports like volleyball and judo, trained rigorously to pick up the pace and get ready for matches and tournaments and stuff. Cultural clubs like English and calligraphy, did whatever they wanted within their given subject. In other words, it was far from the vivacious sports training. 

“Damn, Ei~,” Rina teased. “You’ve really been workin’ up a sweat. The cultural clubs barely do anything.” 

“All we do for two hours is make pretty posters which, I’m not complaining, gets boring after a week.” Terasaka complained loudly. “I’ve written too much good kanji to just make a stupid poster with.” 

Rina, Terasaka, and Chiba decided to hang at a park near their houses, since they lived so close. 

“Archery just has my fingers weak.” Eichan said. “And my arms are sore. But other than that, it’s been okay.” 

“Sounds cool,” Rina smiled. “When’s your first tournament?” 

“Next week,” Eichan answered. 

“Well we’re going to it.” Rina said. Terasaka texted the group. 

Terasaka: 

Eichan’s first archery thing is next week

You all better come

Eichan: 

next Friday*

Yao: 

:DD

I’m down 

Rina: 

I’m definitely going

Aki: 

Sure! 

Kora: 

I’ll come

Where is it? 

Eichan: 

the school 

Tsuki: 

I’m not going 

Akemi: 

Tsuki, we’re going

Tsuki: 

okay, fine

I’ll go

Terasaka: 

We’ll meet at the front gate

Eichan: 

it starts at 10

Yao: 

Maybe we could grab lunch after

Akemi: 

Sure! 

Then you all can come over to our place

Tsuki: 

Akemi, no

Akemi: 

Tsuki, yes

Rina: 

honestly, them bantering over text is kinda cute 

but yeah, I wanna meet both your dads

Yao: 

:DDDDDDD

Akemi: 

Cool! 

Let’s do it

You cool with that, Eichan? 

Eichan: 

sure, let’s eat and hang out after 

all I’m gonna be doing is shooting 

Kora: 

:>>>>

Rina nudged Eichan. “Looks like we got a plan.” 

Eichan just nodded. He then smiled. 

“You smiled,” Rina hugged Eichan. 

Terasaka just smirked with some sort of satisfaction. “Look, only the gays get him to smile.” 

Rina laughed. 

They talked for awhile after that. 

“Yeah, woohoo, come on, Ei!” Rina cheered as Eichan pulled the string to his ear. 

“Never seen you this pumped up before.” Tsuki said. He sipped up what was left of his strawberry milk. 

“It’s for Eichan, airhead.” Rina snipped. “Why’d you come anyway?” 

“Cuz Akemi told me to,” Tsuki answered. 

“Oh yeah,” Rina chuckled, “scumbag, why’d you take this thing with you?” 

Akemi just laughed. 

The field was spread so two archers could have an end at the same time. Eichan was on one side. The attention drew back to him. 

Eichan had hit the target. He was a little off and only got seven points, but it was a lot better than when he practiced. 

One shot,  the archer thought,  I just need this last shot.  He took a deep breath, and nocked an arrow. 

“Come on, you got this Ei~.” Aki cheered. 

Kora whooped loudly. 

Ei suddenly felt more motivated and minded his aim. His eyes followed the arrow all the way to the target. 

“Bullseye!” The referee dude or whatever called. 

Ei gasped and held his head, dropping his bow. “I hit it.” He mumbled. “I-I hit it.” His friends cheered, as did others in the crowd. 

After, the whole tournament ended with the coaches being like ‘thanks for coming’ and Ei getting pats on the back by his upperclassmen. 

The teens met up with Ei at the front gate. 

“Congrats,” a woman smiled. 

“Ma,” Ei hugged her. 

“Hey, Mrs. Chiba or something,” Terasaka said, keeping his grumbling to a minimum. 

“Just call me Mrs. Rinka, you all,” she said. “I’m glad to see that Ei has found such good friends.” She didn’t grin, just smiled a small smile. Her eyes were kind. 

A man stood close behind her. “Ei, happy to see you enjoying something.”

“Ba, I hit it,” Ei said excitedly. His voice was no softer than usual. 

“I’m proud of you,” the man replied. “Ah, so your friends, I’m Mr. Chiba, but you can call me Mr. Ryu if you need something. What are all your names?” 

The teens, as per usual when meeting parents, introduced themselves. 

“I heard you all were gonna head to a restaurant and hang out after this,” Mrs. Rinka said, “have fun.” She waved, turning to walk away.” 

“See ya, don’t get kidnapped.” Mr. Chiba joked. He and his wife walked away. It was unnatural and quick, yet the perfect thing to make Ei super happy. 

“To the restaurant,” Yao said. She patted Ei on the back. “I’m buying today, so feel free to get whatever.” 

“Isn’t this restaurant a little pricey?” Akemi asked, concerned about spending too much. 

“Maybe, but don’t worry. It’s my treat.” Yao whipped out her credit card. “//Tell your bf to calm down.//“ 

“//Why is he  my responsibility now?//“ Tsuki pouted. 

“//Stop talking in English.//” Rina snipped. “//I’m your friend, not your translator.//“ 

Yao and Tsuki chuckled nervously. 

“Sorry,” Yao apologized. Tsuki didn’t really care. 

The teens got their food, then ate and talked. 

Eventually, they went to the station and got on the train. 

“Wow, I haven’t taken this train in awhile.” Kora said. “It’s nice here.” 

“Yeah, and it’s kinda peaceful.” Aki smiled. 

“It’s dark, but kinda cozy.” Haruka commented. 

Yao chuckled. “It actually gets really noisy and packed sometimes.” 

They arrived at their station, then went to take the bus. The bus ride was no different from the sub. The teens stayed quiet most of the way as a few of them talked quietly or played on their phones. 

Akemi and Tsuki led the way back. Akemi was obviously more excited and grinned happily. Meanwhile, Tsuki just smiled at the sight of his bf being happy. 

“Aw, softie,” Rina nudged him. “And here I thought you were a tough guy.” 

“You’re blushing so hard, it’s kinda cute.” Yao teased, elbowing his arm. 

“Guys, come on, we’re almost home!” Akemi called. 

“Wait up, Akemi,” Tsuki said. He grabbed his boyfriend’s hand. 

Akemi slowed down. He pulled Tsuki in, and went in for the kiss. 

Tsuki laughed, and put his hand in front of his mouth. “Hold up, we aren’t going that fast.” 

“Aw~, but we’ve been dating for almost three months.” Akemi pouted. 

“Hey, stupids, we exist too.” Terasaka blurted out. 

Akemi just laughed it off while Tsuki didn’t care. 

Terasaka grumbled. Yao gave him little pats on the shoulder to calm him down. She found this trick worked with him often. 

Eichan, Kora, Aki, and Haruka ignored their antics. The girls aside from Yao talked amongst themselves. 

Tsuki and Akemi led the others up to their houses. 

“Dad, Yu, we’re home with our friends.” Akemi called. 

“Dads, Akemi and I are home,” Tsuki said loudly. 

Yuma and Hiroto opened their door. 

“Hey,” Hiro grinned. 

“How was the tournament?” Karma asked. He, again, had Nagisa in tow. 

“Eichan got twenty points.” Akemi replied, punching his free hand into the air. 

“He got a bullseye.” Rina announced. 

“Dang, great job,” Yu said. 

“That’s impressive,” Nagisa commented. 

“Anyway,” Hiro walked down a few steps, “what are all your names?” 

“//Damn, the amount of times we’ve introduced ourselves to parents is kinda tiring.//“ Yao said quietly to Rina. 

“//Honestly, yeah,//“ Rina agreed. 

“//Well,  we’re just four more.//“ Karma walked down a few steps too. 

“Dad,” Tsuki tilted his head. He and his (taller) dad carried the same collected and calm coolness. 

The teens introduced themselves. 

“And I’m Yaokata Asano. Feel free to just call me Yao, though.” She smiled, though she could feel a judging stare upon her. 

The teens hung in the living room of the Akabane house for the afternoon. They talked and laughed, then watched TV. 

“Hey, since it’s only 2:00, wanna go to karaoke?” Aki asked. “Just an idea, but maybe we could blow off some steam.” 

They agreed. They were bored anyway, so why not? 

“The nearest karaoke place is down the street.” Tsuki pointed in it’s general direction. 

“Let’s go.” Akemi stood up first. The others followed his lead to the karaoke place. 

The teens decided to head back after an hour and a half instead of two. It was 3:40ish, and mostly everyone started heading home. 

“Today was fun,” Aki said, “let’s get together again over summer break!” 

“I agree,” Haruka nodded. 

They were about to disperse. 

“Y’all wanna go to Kyoto?” Akemi asked out of the blue. “I know it’s not close, but it’d still be fun.” 

“That’d be awesome. But, won’t we need parents or guardians? Plus money, and we need tickets and everything.” Yao said. 

“It won’t be too expensive though,” Kora pointed out. “We just have to worry about our parents. We need their permission, and if we get it, who’ll take us?” 

“I’ve already talked to my parents about a trip. I’m sure they won’t mind taking us.” Akemi replied. 

“That could be fun.” Tsuki smirked, nudging his bf. “It’s supposed to have a lot of local treats, too.” 

“Sounds cool, but how are even supposed to go on the trip? Clubs are still goin’ on. Would we do something like a weekend trip?” Terasaka mentioned. 

“Let’s go.” Eichan said. 

They’d text, for sure. 

“Welp, gotta go. See you all later!” Haruka waved. 

“Same here, Aki and I need to get going.” Kora said. She and Aki waved. 

“See ya,” Aki grinned. 

“Yeah, I better get going too. Bye~,” Yao also waved and walked back to the bus stop. 

Everyone left and eventually, it was just Tsuki and Akemi again. 

Time passed quickly, and it was evening before they knew it. They had dinner separately, though sometimes their families ate together. 

Tsuki was about to go to his room, when his dad called him. 

“Hey, Tsuki,” Karma strolled up to him casually, “can I talk to you about something?” 

“Sure,” Tsuki answered. If their hair and eye colors weren’t different, they’d probably be the same person. Their personalities were alike, and they held themselves the same way. 

Karma walked into his son’s room, sitting in the chair at his desk. 

Tsuki sat on his bed. “What do you need?” 

“I wanted to talk to you about something.” Karma replied. He walked over to Tsuki’s bookshelf. “You ever thought anything about these thick books?” 

“I thought they were just your yearbook and some sort of stupid advice book.” Tsuki said. “Never thought anything of them...why?” 

The room was silent for a second. 

Karma took the books out of the shelf, and sat back down, placing the books on his lap. “Here, look through this one.” 

Tsuki took the book in his hands and opened it to a random page, then started flipping through. “It’s just a bunch of pictures of you and your classmates.” 

“Go to the first page,” Karma said, his eyes darkening, “and look at all of our names.” 

Tsuki nodded, not questioning anything, and flipped to the first page. He looked at the pictures and names of all the class. Class 3-E, it said at the top.

“What do you think?” Karma asked. 

“It’s nothing,” his child replied. 

“You have better eyes than that. Look more carefully.” 

Tsuki nodded and looked through the pictures and names, not even consuming half of it. 

“Yukiko Kanzaki” 

Ms. Yukiko...Aki’s mom...? That’s probably just another Yukiko. 

He saw his parents and Akemi’s parents. 

“Tomohito Sugino” 

What the heck? Am I looking at that right? 

“Kotaro Takebayashi” 

“Ryunosuke Chiba” 

“Ryoma Terasaka” 

“Rio Nakamura” 

“Rinka Hayami” 

The teachers too...? 

“Tadaomi Karasuma”

“See it?” Karma asked, smirking and waiting for answer. “You and your friends aren’t as different as you think. It’s like your paths linked up with ours somehow.” 

“This makes no sense. How the hell did we all end up in A Class when you all ended up in E?” Tsuki asked. He wanted to snap, but didn’t. 

“I don’t know.” Karma smirked. “But let me ask you this: what is the one name you  don’t see?” 

Tsuki looked thoroughly. “A-Asano,” he answered. 

“Correct, you said she had some sort of reputation to uphold. Something about her dad,” Karma’s gaze became that of his junior high self’s. It locked Tsuki’s navy eyes onto his golden ones. “Gakushu Asano, he was the one in first place—top scores in every subject. His father, the principle, pinned us down with an iron thumb.” 

“What’s your point?” 

Silence passed between the two. Tsuki’s ears rang. 

“My point is: even if you’ve become friends with her, even if you think she’ll be by your side forever, Yaokata Asano won’t. Asanos are like that; cold, manipulative liars that’ll stab you in the back once you think they’re on your side.” Karma sneered. His voice was low, and it was obvious this was a sensitive topic. 

“Dad, this Gakushu guy couldn’t be that bad. All he did was be a jerk to your class, and he might’ve been a dickhead but so what? Junior high was junior high. Plus his daughter can’t be that bad. She’s one of the nicest people I’ve met. She’s also one of the only people that  wanted to become friends with me aside from Akemi.” 

“That’s just it. Why do you think she became your friend, huh? Just so she could help you study? No, she obviously wanted to get close to you and use your feelings for her benefit. She saw your scores.  That’s the only reason why she wanted to become friends in the first place.” Karma didn’t yell, nor did he shout or scream or do anything like that. His voice was like the growl of a tiger. It made you know you were in danger. 

“What do her scores have to do with this?” Tsuki snapped, standing abruptly from his bed. “What do her grades or my grades have to do with this? And while we’re at it, what the HELL does her father have to do with  you ?” His chest heaved. “Dad, she’s a good perso-” 

“You wanna know?” 

“Huh?” 

“You really wanna know what he has to do with me, don’t you? Fine, it’s time I let you know.” Karma got up and went to his room, took one of the pictures from his nightstand, then went back to his child’s room. “What do you see here?”

“It’s just my dads having a good time.” Tsuki answered. 

The picture was of Nagisa and Karma at some sort of arcade. They were holding up peace signs, Nagisa with a more lively smile and Karma with his usual relaxed smirk and strawberry milk. 

Karma nodded. “This was before we even started dating. Nagisa took me to an arcade to get my mind off of a certain event.” He looked angry, more than anyone had ever seen him before. Pain enveloped him as he took the backing of the frame off, and took out what seemed like one photo. He showed the original picture of him and his now husband, but he slid the second picture out from behind it. 

Tsuki inhaled sharply. “Who is that?” 

“You wanted to know what he had to do with me.” Karma replied with spite and bitterness. 

This time, Tsuki gasped. “What the hell?” He stared at the picture. “You dated...him?” 

“This was back in high school, it even spanned into college for awhile. We were academic rivals and fought each other mentally. But no one could’ve guessed that we secretly dated. He made sure my eyes were on  him . He made sure I wasn’t paying attention to anything else. I was played for a fool, an idiot. Once he saw that I was all his, he used my body. You know what that means. After he had had enough, though, he threw me away as if I was nothing. He turned the tables, telling me  I was in the wrong. He used my feeling for his own benefit, to satisfy his lust.” 

It was like a bomb had been dropped. Tsuki sat there barely breathing, his heart racing. It took a moment for him to collect all the facts and put all the pieces of the puzzle together. What. The actual. Heck. What the hell? What just happened? 

“But dad, you know Yao won’t actually-“ 

“Oh, she won’t? I thought the same thing about him. Trust your dad, why don’t you? At some point, she will kill you in a way that won’t result in death. But it will rip you from the inside out and tear you apart slowly.” 

A creepy and eerie quietness followed. It wasn’t broken until they heard feet shuffling down the hall. 

“Hey, guys, dinner’s ready, uhh,” Nagisa appeared in the doorway. He caught sight of the images and the frame, and became confused. But all he did, was smile. “Let’s eat. Hurry up, or your food’s gonna get cold.” 

The two got up and followed Nagisa back to the dining room. 

The next day... 

“Ah, Tsuki!” Akemi waved as he saw his bf stroll out of his front door. “I was gonna go meet Yao and Rina for lunch. Wanna come?” 

Tsuki wanted to say yes, but he hesitated. “Um, wait a second, come here.” He took Akemi by the hand and led him to his room. 

Akemi nudged him. “Why’re we in your room? Your parents are out, right?” 

“Uh, no,” Tsuki put his hand up before Akemi could try to kiss him. “I wanted to show you something.” He took out the yearbook from the day before, flipping it to the front page. “Tell me my dad wasn’t just joking.” 

Akemi scanned the page, looking at all the names and faces. “No way,” his eyes became wide. 

“Apparently so,” Tsuki salted. “And that’s not all. They’re E Class, right? That system was abolished at Kunugigaoka years ago, but get this. Yao’s dad was in A Class. In high school, he and my dad dated. But her dad used him. Tell me this isn’t just me. You’re good at reading people, so tell me. Does Yao have anything, anything, up her sleeve that could change our lives for the worse?” 

“What the actual hell? You can’t believe that bs. If Karma and whoever Yao’s dad is dated, and Yao’s dad used him, then Yao had no control over that.” Akemi said defensively. “Look, I get what you’re saying and being used is hard. But seriously, you can’t just believe that.” 

“Is there a n y possible chance that Yao could be a threat to us? Any?” 

Akemi thought about it for a moment. “Look, let’s recount the facts. Every time we’ve asked her to come to something, she’s come. She’s been supportive, she’s told us the truth. She’s helped us study countless times, and she takes the initiative for things so that if  she messes up no one else will feel bad if they do. She even paid for us at a pricey restaurant.” 

“I know that but...don’t you think she’s trying a bit  too hard?” Tsuki said, trying to reason with his bf. “Don’t you think that she’s being a bit  too friendly? She was the one who took initiative to be friends with us, even when Kora and Aki didn’t want to be. Don’t you think she could be hiding something?” 

Akemi, for once, became dead serious. His brow furrowed and his eyes locked his bf’s gaze. “No,” he said firmly. “Look, it could be that she’s trying hard but I don’t think she’s ever had friends like us. Just like you in middle school, she knew that if she didn’t reach out to someone, she’d be left alone all over again.” 

Tsuki put a hand on Akemi’s mouth. “Don’t you ever f*ck*ng mention that.” He demanded harshly, then took his hand down. “I know that Yao might have a bad history or whatever, but she’s an Asano.” 

“Why the f*ck does that matter?!” Akemi snapped. “Why the hell do you think she wanted to become friends with us? Why the hell would she use us when all she’s done is just support us? She liked you, Tsuki-“ 

“Don’t you give me that f*ck*ng bullsh*t about her liking me. She never did. Why the hell would she be so supportive, huh? Just because she wanted to? I don’t know about you, but I bet there’s a devil inside her waiting to break loose. I thought you were good at this stuff. Can’t you see that she might be a threat?” 

“No, I think the f*ck not.” 

“Shut the hell up and listen, b*st*rd.” 

The heat of the moment passed and Tsuki realized what he just said. 

“No, sorry, I wasn’t thinking-“ 

“Who the hell are you and what have you done to my boyfriend?” Akemi looked at him with tears in his eyes. His voice broke mid-sentence. “Tsuki would try to reason it out.  Tsuki wouldn’t jump to conclusions. Never has he ever turned his back on a friend, even if he thought they were bad.” 

“Akemi, I-“ 

“Save it, big shot. Or am  I a threat too?” 

“Akemi, please-“ 

“Shut it.” Akemi walked out calmly. But when he got out the front door, he realized what he had just done. “It’s only been three months.” He mumbled. Tears burned his eyes, but he didn’t let them out. “Right, head up, Akemi. Gotta go.” He then headed to the bus stop. 

Tsuki sat on his bed. He was home alone, so he started sobbing quietly. 

What did I just do? What the hell did I just do?  Both thought. 

Why the hell does it hurt so bad? 

We weren’t even together for that long. 

He meant everything to me. 

We weren’t even that serious. 

Damn, I messed up this time. 

We only held hands. 

Agh, f*ck, f*ck, f*ck, f*ck, f*****ck!

Their consciences fought. One side told them that it was okay and that they were only in high school, there were many fish in the sea. But the other side knew...they had lost the biggest part of themselves. 

Akemi arrived and saw Yao and Rina waiting for him. 

“Hey,” Yao waved. 

“Took you long enough,” Rina joked. 

“Haha, haven’t seen you guys in awhile.” Akemi smiled. 

Yao laughed a bit. “Anything interesting happening?” 

“My mom’s gonna go on a business trip, I’ll invite you all over.” Rina replied. 

“What does your mom do for a living?” Akemi asked. 

“She used to be a diplomat, but now she’s some sort of interpreter and the company wants her to do something for Britain.” Rina said. 

“That’s really cool.” Yao responded. “How are things with you, Akemi? Your parents okay?” 

“Yeah,” Akemi nodded. He wanted to tell them about what just happened, but how was he supposed to? How was he supposed to tell them, ‘oh you know that relationship you were totally rooting for? well it’s in the dumps now.’? 

“Are you sure Tsuki’s okay with this? Not afraid he’ll get jealous if he sees you with two girls?” Rina teased. 

Akemi was caught off guard for a second, but snapped back into reality. “Oh yeah, don’t worry. He said that since Rina’s lesbian and Yao’s respectful, it’d be fine.” Little did he know that he was so good at acting. But he was thankful at that point. 

They ate and hung out. They met Eichan and Terasaka at a park. It was fun for awhile as they talked. 

That was when everyone received a text on their phones. 

Tsuki: 

thought I’d be the first to tell you this since I’m the one who caused it anyway 

Akemi: 

Tsuki...not yet

Tsuki: 

Akemi, now

this is hard to tell you all

Yao: 

Are you guys okay? Did you get in trouble or something? 

Rina: 

what the heck, are you alright? 

Eichan: 

this sounds confidential

Terasaka: 

If Akemi doesn’t wanna say anything, that means this is serious 

Kora: 

What’s wrong? Are you hurt or sick? 

Aki: 

Please tell us

We’re here to help

Haruka: 

:o 

Are you okay? 

Please tell me you’re okay

Akemi: 

Please Tsuki, not yet

Tsuki: 

//he and I broke up// 

Rina: 

what the heck

Yao: 

What on earth happened?! 

Aki: 

What?! 

Terasaka: 

What happened? 

Eichan: 

is it a sensitive topic? 

if so, tell us later

Akemi: 

He said it in English for a reason

Tsuki: 

he and I broke up 

there, I said it

Silence reigned in the chat. 

Yao, private message with Tsuki: 

Akemi won’t say anything

What happened? 

Tsuki: 

none of your business 

if I’m gonna tell you, I’d rather it be in person

The others who were hanging with Akemi were trying to comfort him as he seemed really worn out. 

Yao, in the group chat: 

EVERYONE

PARK

TOMORROW

scuse me

EVERYONE, MEET AT THE FRICKING PARK TOMORROW

Tsuki: 

no

Akemi: 

You better f*ck*ng show up, dumb*ss

Kora: 

Akemi just cursed twice

Aki: 

RED FLAG

Rina: 

Tsuki Aka-airhead-f*ck*ng-bane, you better show up or I’m dragging you out of your house 

Haruka: 

I’m definitely coming 

Terasaka: 

Like hell I’m not coming 

Ei, you better come to

Eichan: 

I’m coming 

Tsuki: 

No

Terasaka: 

You brought this upon yourself, punk*ss 

Yao: 

Whatever, no fighting 

Just 

Park

Tomorrow

At 7:00am 

//Seven AM//

Got it? 

Tsuki: 

fine

Silence echoed across the chat again. Akemi, by this point, was trying to hold back tears. 

Yao side-hugged him. “We’ll solve it all tomorrow.” 

“I’m gonna beat the piss out of him if he doesn’t come.” Terasaka grunted. 

Rina scratched Akemi’s back with one hand. “We’ll solve it together. Don’t worry, we’ll all be there.” 

Eichan stayed silent. 

Tears started running down Akemi’s cheeks. He’d been holding them in all day, and he finally got the chance to let loose. 

Meanwhile, Tsuki also started sobbing. Nagisa heard a noise and walked to his room, then saw his child bundled up as a sobbing mess. He hugged Tsuki and calmed him down. 

What have I done?  Both thought. 

Seven AM...

Yao arrived at the park. Rina, Terasaka, and Eichan were already there. Kora and Aki arrived soon after. They all stayed silent, looking at each other and coming to mental agreements. They’d solve it, together. Whatever happened, they’d solve it together. 

Akemi arrived. He didn’t talk, just walked up to the group. 

A few minutes passed. All of them sat on the bench and the floor surrounding it, hoping that the one who started this would take responsibility and end it. 

Tsuki finally came. He didn’t say anything. No one said anything, no one wanted to. 

“Why are we here?” Yao took the initiative to ask the most important question. 

“//He and I-//“ Tsuki started. 

“Don’t you dare say it in English cuz I’m just gonna translate.” Rina snipped. 

“He and I broke up, and I caused it. It-it’s my fault!” Tsuki snapped. 

“Don’t say that. I pushed things when they didn’t need to be pushed.” Akemi stepped forward. He looked at the ground in front of him, unable to meet Tsuki’s gaze. “Don’t get mad at yourself.” 

“And what if it is? This might drive a wedge in our friend group but I’m still a firm believer in what I said.” Tsuki frowned. 

“What on earth did you say?” Yao asked. 

“Hey, idiot, in case you didn’t know, we’re here to help. If you don’t tell us what’s happenin’, we can’t help you, so stop being pushovers and get on with it.” Terasaka said loudly. “Hurry up and spill. You’re here to get your feelings out, not to hold them back.” 

“Remember, we’ll help and support you, 100%.” Aki smiled softly. 

The two nodded. They were at a perfect standstill, and locked eyes. Tsuki stared into Akemi’s ochre eyes and Akemi stared into Tsuki’s navy ones. 

Akemi sighed. “I give up. Tell them what you think.” 

“You want me to tell the whole story all over again?” Tsuki lowered his voice. “Fine, but listen closely cuz I’m only gonna say this once.” He took a deep breath. “Asanos are cold, manipulative liars that’ll stab you in the back once they’ve earned your trust. Exhibit A: turns out my dad dated Yao’s dad in high school. When Yao’s dad had my dad fully in his grasp, your dad f*ck*ng used my dad.” He lashed out at Yao. “He used my dad’s feelings for his own benefit.” 

“Where the heck is this coming from?” Yao asked, looking at him hurtfully. “What do our dad’s have to do with your relationship?” 

“Your dad was a soulless idiot who manipulated people for his own good.” Tsuki yelled. 

“I told you, we don’t know that. We don’t even know Yao all that well, how can you say that about her?” Akemi snapped. “Don’t talk about her that way. I shouldn’t even be peaking into your dad’s business.” 

“Look how much you’re like your parents, or how much I’m like mine. You can’t expect the apple to fall that far from the tree.” Tsuki said. “I can’t BELIEVE I stood up for her. I should’ve just let those bullies say those things. It’s not like she would’ve cared anyway.” 

The park was empty for some odd reason, so no one could hear the boys yelling at each other. 

“Oh, so it’s about me.” Yao said, looking down. “Sorry, I just thought you guys had a better argument than that.” She salted. “Seriously, get your facts straight before you even say anything.” Her voice was almost as low as Tsuki’s. “You think I’m like my father, huh? You think I just manipulate people for my own good? No, you’ve got it all backwards.” 

“She’s damn scary,” Rina mumbled. 

The others were completely thrown off by Yao’s and Akemi’s changes in attitude. It’s like they were completely different people when fighting for something they knew was right. 

“See, Tsuki? She doesn’t use people. Our friend group was really starting to bond and all this did was throw a monkey wrench into it.” Akemi begged, “please, Tsuki. Please just give her a chance.” 

“Don’t you see? This is just another way of manipulation. She’s just making herself sound innocent.” Tsuki yelled. 

“Because she  is innocent,” Akemi yelled back. “You think people just walk up to people, say hi, and they’re automatically accepted? You know how hard it is to take the initiative for everything?! You were just like her when you reached out to me. You tried everything you could to be my friend. So cut the crap and see the bigger picture.” 

Damn. What the hell? This was a whole new side to Akemi no one, not even Tsuki, had seen before. 

“Guys, stop fighting. Like I said, this is a stupid argument to have. I’m just one person, so calm down. Don’t worry about me so much when you relationship is on the line.” Yao stepped between them. “Or do you even care about that anymore?” She glared at Tsuki. 

Tsuki scowled, “f*ck.” 

“Okay, I think I’m starting to see everyone’s points here.” Kora stepped up. “Tsuki’s saying Yao’s like her dad cuz the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. He’s basing this off of previous knowledge and influence. Yao’s saying that she’s not like her dad and you all need to get your facts straight and stop worrying. Akemi’s saying that we can’t judge Yao cuz we haven’t heard her story or even met her dad. So let me ask you this...” 

The boys prepped themselves. 

“Like Yao said, what the HELL does this have to do with your relationship? You can’t split cuz you had different opinions.” 

“This isn’t just an opinion, though. It’s a whole entire human being.” Akemi said. “And it’s one of our friends, nonetheless. The Tsuki  I know would never turn his back on a friend until he heard the full story.” 

“I’ve heard the full story.” Tsuki said. “I’ve stated my opinion, go ahead and retaliate.” 

No one knew how to fix the situation they were in. It was quiet. The park was silent, their mouths were shut. Slowly but surely, Yao started to walk away. The others took that as their cue to disperse. They kept their mouths closed. 

Only Tsuki and Akemi kept their places. 

“We’ve been best friends for years. Please, can we at least be friends again?” Akemi begged, “please, Tsuki, please.” 

Tsuki didn’t answer. Tears filled his eyes. He wiped one tear rolling down his cheek, and left. 

Akemi realized what just happened and broke down into silent tears. He squatted and cried into his knees. Tears of pain, agony, sadness, frustration, and disappointment. He had had a glimmer of hope, one tiny sliver that he thought could open up enough to let Tsuki through. He had one shot and he blew it. In under 24 hours, he had lost his boyfriend, and his best friend. But why did it feel like he had just lost his whole life? 

“You look hungry, have you had breakfast?” A woman asked, extending her hand to Akemi. She had a sweet and cute smile. 

Akemi looked up and shook his head. “It’s okay, I’m gonna head home.” 

“Alright, I just wanted to make sure that you weren’t sick or anything.” The woman had a kind and warm aura about her. She had brown hair. “Make sure to be safe while on the trip home.” She spoke with knowledge as if she already knew the teen. 

Akemi nodded, “yes, ma’am.” He got up and made sure his eyes were dry before getting on the bus and heading home. 

When the bus stopped and Akemi got off, he basically ran home. He got to his house, but walked calmly to his room. He then shut the door, plopped onto his bed, and stared into space. 

How was anyone supposed to fix this? How did it even come to this? What did Yao ever do to Tsuki? Akemi needed to talk things out with Tsuki, but how? When? Where? What would he say? 

Yao also contemplated these things. She wondered what could’ve possibly driven them apart in such a short amount of time. Maybe both said something they didn’t mean to, or their anger clouded up their mind and it was just an in-the-moment thing. 

Tsuki regretted everything. From the moment he opened that yearbook to the moment he wiped that tear from his cheek, he regretted it all. 

Rina, Terasaka, and Eichan talked about it on the way home since they walked the same way. 

“What do you think they talked about before all this? Like, what could’ve possibly been so bad that they completely broke up.” Rina wondered out loud. “I feel like there’s a-whole-nother side or story that we just haven’t seen, or that they haven’t told us.” 

“Those two were barely even dating three months. What do you want us to do? Fix it?” Terasaka grumbled. “If you ask me, this isn’t any of our business. Like Akemi said, we shouldn’t even be peaking in the Akabanes’ business.” 

“I mean...we kind of owe it to them.” Eichan spoke up. Both Rina and Terasaka gasped. “Like Yao, like Kora and Aki, like Haruka...they’ve always been there for us. They haven’t bailed out on us. Even when Tsuki said no, Akemi made him be a good person. There’s a reason they’re not talking about anything.” 

The other two nodded. They thought about all the facts and recounted what had happened during that year. There must’ve been something from their actual breakup conversation that they weren’t telling their friends. 

Kora made a new group chat with everyone except Tsuki and Akemi. 

Kora: 

This is temporary 

But we needa figure out what’s going on

Aki: 

I agree 

From our experience in junior high, Tsuki was always kind of a loner and Akemi was this extroverted, friendly guy who made friends with kids who didn’t have any 

Kora: 

Correct

The two were basically inseparable

So whatever happened must have been super serious if it could tear them apart 

And I don’t think it was just about Yao and her dad 

Yao: 

Honestly though

I don’t think they would’ve split over something as simple as ‘my dad broke up‘

Rina: 

let’s think about everything they’ve told us

  1. Yao’s dad used Tsuki’s dad 
  2. They broke up
  3. Therefore Yao might be a horrible person 



Terasaka: 

They definitely had some sort of argument 

They wouldn’t split otherwise 

Yao: 

What about the details? 

We need to recount their conversation in front of us too 

Akemi said something like ‘the Tsuki I know’ 

Maybe it’s because Akemi feels lost because Tsuki’s acting abnormally or something 

Eichan: 

see it from both points of view 

in one sense, Tsuki’s trying to protect Akemi 

he’s afraid that Yao might be using him for her benefit 

in the other sense, Akemi wants proof 

he doesn’t wanna go into this half-*ss*d and judge someone he barely knows 

it all comes down to fear and anxiety 

Rina: 

damn, Ei!! 

he might have just solved it 

Haruka :

Yay! 

I don’t want them to just split over this matter 

It’s way too vague 

Yao: 

Exactly 

Like I said before, I’m just one person 

If Tsuki’s that worried about me, he wouldn’t just tell Akemi 

He’d try to get everyone as far away from me as possible 

Kora: 

It seems like the opposite has happened 

Now it’s like we all don’t know what side to pick 

Aki: 

I think one of the big problems is that they have no one to turn to 

If something like a breakup happened before, Tsuki would go to Akemi and vice versa 

Terasaka: 

So we’re stuck

Is that it?

I don’t know about you, but we need to get to the bottom of this 

If they didn’t just split over that stupid story, what else could’ve thrown a monkey wrench into their relationship like that?

Eichan: 

like I said before 

it all comes down to fear and anxiety 

both are afraid of what’s gonna happen if they agree with the other side 

Tsuki’s afraid of Yao actually possibly being a bad person 

Akemi’s afraid of losing the friendships he’s worked to build up since April 

fear 

that’s the only answer we have to this 

Yao: 

Not saying anything, but it’d be easier if they let that whole issue go 

If I am a bad person, they’ll find out because Akemi’s good at reading people and Tsuki’s good at exploiting the findings

But if I’m not and I continue to be a good friend, what do they need to worry about? 

Rina: 

and if it turns out Tsuki was right, at least they have a support system to fall back on 

Aki: 

Well, at least we’re starting to figure it out 

Kora: 

Right 

Let’s meet at the park again tomorrow

We can talk this out then 

The rest of summer break went like that. The teens had separate hang outs, but it was like it was strained now. They didn’t have full group hang outs anymore. Instead, they opted for only three to four people at a time. Tsuki and Akemi never hung out anymore, or really ever said hi. Tsuki regretted his actions too much, and Akemi was too hurt and worried. At times, they felt urges to talk. But they could never bring themselves to knock on the door of the other house. 

The others kept it in the back of their minds, but tried to keep things as lighthearted as possible. 

**Author's Note:**

> Make sure to leave advice and kudos ;>


End file.
